"Daily Word" Echoes
P.0 Box 30, Moriyama Post Office, Nagoya 463 Tel. (052)794-6422
September 29, 1996 Number 54 \200

(Essays submitted by listeners/readers on themes of "Daily Word" messages
between July 2 and August 6, 1996. Corrected and edited by Clark Offner.)
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July 2 Message (Subject #308)
A famous parable of Jesus, four
in thelOth chapter of the Gospel of Luke,
is commonly called the Good Samaritan.
A teacher of the Jewish law had tried to
trap Jesus with the question about ho
to gain eternal life. Jesus asked the le
gal specialist what he thought and the
commended him on his correct answer
(to love God above all else and to lot
your neighbor as yourself) and urged him
to obey those basic commandments. The
the man, wanting to justify himself,
asked Jesus, "Who is my neighbor". The
answer implied in Jesus' parable is that
any person in need is our neighbor, re
gardless of where he or she lives. T1
theme for our meeting last Sunday wa
"My Neighborhood" . Those present gave
descriptions of the neighborhoods in
which they live. That is the theme for
listeners/readers who wish to write a
essay. What kind of neighborhood do yo
live in? Physically, geographically, is it
a pleasant, convenient place to live? D
you have much social contact with your
neighbors? Has the neighborhood change
during the time you have lived there?
**-A-**********************
I have met many neighbors since
was born, but I cannot forget the Kaji
wara family who lived next door to us in
Sendai, more than 50 years ago. They
were a gray-haired lady, her daughter,
Shio, and younger son, lwao. Shio seemed
to be about thirty years old. Rev. Kajiwara,
their father, had died a few years
before we moved to Sendai from Aomori.
id His family welcomed us as tenants. They
were very pious Christians. Shio San
was a very good gardener, cook and nurse
to her mother and brother, who had epilepsy.
Two other sisters had married,
but she remained at home to take care of
her old mother and sick brother.
lwao San was thin and pale, but he
was usually cheerful. He used to sing to
"17 himself the hymn (#503) , Karl iruru hi
wa chikashi, Yorokobi mote, Sono tariho.
He used to come to my school and took a
picture of my running on the playground.
It He taught me how to make a wreath of
?- clover. Sometimes, he surprised us,
Pe shouting loudly and rolling over wherev-
?er he was. Their mother died in April
1938, soon after our father's death on
Fn March 12. 1 remember that my sister and
I stayed overnight with this kind family
?for three days until our father's funeral
?was over.
After . their mother's death, the sis
?ter and brother lived by themselves for
ir several years. It was in 1943, when the
?course of the Pacific War became worse
for Japan, that lwao San died after fall:
ing into the fire he was making in the
yard. This accident was a great shock
for me. Also in our family, our brother
was in the army to learn the art of war.
Our family and Shio San helped each other.
We sometimes escaped into the same
bomb shelter, sharing food or sewing
thread. Soon after the Pacific War was
2 SEPTEMBER 29, 1996
over, Shio San moved to Tokyo to get
married and we expressed our congratulations.
Before she moved to Tokyo, my
eldest sister purchased the house we
were living in. Shio San's big, old house
became her nephew's residence. Our
neighborhood changed. I lived there with
my sister and mother for a few years.
After I became independent, I met
many neighbors, moving very often. A !-
most all of them were nice to me. I also
tried to be nice to them, but I had to say
good-by to each of them after a short
time. I always remember the Bible teach
ing, "Love thy neighbor as thyself". And I
have fond memories of the Kajiwara fam
ily, my first neighbors, and also of Sendai.
(KAZUKO TAGUCHI, Fukushirna)
I lived in the city of Hamamatsu
with my family until I was twenty years
old. It was a residential zone in the suburbs
which was quiet,. spacious and close
to nature, but the area has changed now.
Natural surroundings disappeared, little
by little. Many houses were built and it
is now called a high-class area. I am
disappointed every time I visit there.
There is no longer a nice atmosphere like
the old days.
I can also write about Nagoya. I
came here after the war. Certainly, here
also, natural surroundings have been
lost, but I love my neighborhood because
of its very warm human relationships. I
want to have 'a warm heart like others,
even though Nagoya is a large rural district.
I will mention another neighborhood:
Japan's ? neighbors that are across
the sea. I visited Hong Kong from June
3rd to 6th this year. I heard about the
difficult situation from a young man who
guided us. He told us that he will go to
Beijing after Hong Kong is returned to.
China. He said that. he will not be able to
freely express hirnself there. I cannot
forget his words. iy outlook while there
changed by his words. I do not know
"DAILY WORD" ECHOES
-how China will act in the future, but
there are many people who are pressed to
make difficult decisions. This makes my
heart gloomy and I pray for God's mercy
on those who live in Hong Kong.
(MICHIKO SANG, Minami, Nagoya)
We have a proverb: "A neighbor at
hand is better than a brother far off." In
fact, neighborly relations and social obligations
greatly differ between rural
and urban communities. In rural districts
an old type of communal life survives
to a certain degree. Having very
close relations among themselves, neigh
bons provide mutual help in farming, fish
ing or performing ceremonies. Punishment
for neglecting obligations and disturbing
social order used to be the discontinuance
of all relations with the
offender (mura-hachibu). Recently, modernization
has brought about a decline in
this type of community. In cities and
public housing developments where people
with different cultural backgrounds
live, one's relations with other members
of the community tend to be estranged.
We should keep friendly relations with
neighbors. The proverb noted above teach
es this principle. But, at the same time,
there is nothing so difficult as relations
with neighbors.
In former days, there was the idea
of mutual help also in urban life. For example,
adults used to scold their neighbors'
children, considering it their social
obligation. But today, they seldom
do that for fear of being criticized by the
children's parents. The reason for this
tendency, I think, is a false individualism
which is widespread in our
society today. In cities, especially in
apartment complexes, people do not want
to know their neighbors nor to experience
interference by others.
Recently I heard the word ''kben
(park) debut" and was told that it connotes
the difficulty of young mothers'
association with o-her mothers when
SEPTEMBER 29, 1996
they step into a nearby park with their
small children for the first time. I can
easily imagine the distress of young
mothers who are not adept at keeping
company with others.
Young people these days have no
regard for the trouble they cause others
and, at the same time, have not had to
suffer themselves, which are the main
reasons for the aggravation of neighbor
relations. So-called pet-kog.ai (pet pollution)
is a serious subject of discussion
today. Cats and dogs invade a neigh
bor's garden and cause damage. They may
be lovely pets for their owners, but they
are nothing but hateful trespassers to
the neighbor. The cries of pets at night
are also a nuisance to neighbors, but ordinary
people do not have the courage to
complain to the owner.
Last year I served as the manager
of my neighborhood association and realized
many problems in the neighborhood.
Such associations work for a favorable
living environment and the welfare of
members. They coordinate festivals,
sports and various kinds of cultural activities
which may be, in effect, attempts
to retrieve the community spirit
which is now lost. In large cities, I hear,
even such an association is hard to establish.
People should know that they
cannot live for themselves alone in this
world. (MIKIHIKO YOSHIMOTO, Gifu)
I desired to live in a quiet residential
area for many years because I used
to live in a downtown area that was
crowded and noisy until late in the evening.
My dream came true when we purchased
a small piece of land and built a
correspondingly small house on it about
ten years ago. I was happy to have the
city library and the best-known sightseeing
spot for cherry blossoms in Handa
a five-minute walk from my house.
At that time, there were many vacant
lots here and there. Almost all
houses were built in the Japanese style
"DAILY WORD" ECHOES 3
and had one or two stories. They also
had gardens. The size of the gardens
depended on the time when the land was
purchased. Those who bought land earlier
had larger gardens and others who bought
it later had smaller ones. Our garden
was the smallest when we moved here.
Those who came after us could not spare
the space to have a garden.
The number of the vacant lots grad
wally decreased and new houses emerged
in the meantime. When a two-storied
blue building suddenly appeared in our
block, I was shocked at the color and
style of the building that did not fit in
with the surrounding houses at all. This
building was a small gym that had some
athletic equipment in it. I got mad and
cursed the owner and his bad taste.
Soon after that, an apartment
house, a so-called "mansion", was built.
I found it disgusting because it was a
square, dark brown, four-storied ugly
building that destroyed a good view and
the atmosphere of this residential area.
However, my anger began to subside
when I saw that young people living in
this apartment house seemed to he decent
and said "Good morning" to me every
time I met them at the garbage pickup
area. Since I made friends with a young
Korean couple who live there, I don't Care
now how the building looks.
From April of this year, it is our
turn to be community leaders. On the
"Clean -up Day" of our community , we
weeded the nearby playground and
cleaned the ditches on both sides of the
road. Mr. K., a retired, quiet man, was
very cooperative and worked hard. He
helped me a great deal. I heard that his
brother was the owner of the gym. Then
my hostility toward this odd building instantly
softened.
I think people feel comfortable
when they get along with their neighbors,
no matter how the surroundings
look. The human factor plays the biggest
role to decide whether or not they have a
4 SEPTEMBER 29, 1996
good neighborhood. If people don't get
along with their neighbors, they wouldn't
say that they had a good neighborhood no
matter how quiet and clean it was and no
matter how many good public facilities
it had.
In Japan, they say the best way of
keeping a good relationship with neighbors
is tsukazu hanarezu, meaning "don't
be close and don't be distant". I agree
with this saying. Now that I have a good
neighborhood, I will keep this saying in
mind and 'will put some distance between
me and my neighbors to maintain
' continuously peaceful contacts with
them. (NAOMI KONDO, Handa)
I live near the Yagoto intersection
in Nagoya. The Yagoto area is favored
with natural beauty and cultural assets.
There are many temples, shrines, church
es, schools, universities, a health rehl--
bilitation center, banks, post offices, a
library and hospitals, especially the Red
Cross Hospital, which is very large and
accepts patierri:s day or night.
Jusco is a large supermarket nearby.
I go for a walk and stop in at the supermarket
to go shopping at the same
time. It takes about one hour, including
shopping, to go there and return. I enjoy
standing and reading books at the bookstore
on the 4th floor of Jusco. Of
course, sometirps, I buy books there.
You have probably heard of the famous,
large tc,..mple, Yagoto ashOji, so I
would like to vicite about it. The principal
Buddhist image enshrined there is
named Daizui ivly(5-6 which, reportedly,
can cure incontinence. Another Buddha,
Fudo My6-6, is said to have the remarkable
power to prevent such tragedies
as traffic ._:.ccidents.
Festivals held on the 5th and
13th day of every month. On those days,
many people the temple. It is said
that people who the temple every
month can keen their private ;farts
"DAILY WORD" ECHOES
healthy even in old Many stalls are
open on the festival days.
(MIEKO OKUMURA, Mizuho, Nagoya)
"Who is my neighbor?" Not neces -
sarily the people who live next door. Our
next door neighbors are the Yamanouchis.
The husband is kind enough to plant pretty
flowers even in a part of our garden
and we do appreciate his kindness, but,
honestly speaking, I do not think they are
my neighbors. To me, "neighbors" are
people who need my help and who 1 want
to befriend.
Those who need my help are my
family members, students and colleagues,
although I often need their help
as well. Since I am often helped, I am
ready to help them whenever I am available.
Some of those people do not help
me, including my children and some of
my students, but they can encourage me
with an expression of appreciation on
their faces when I help them. Then, why
do I want to help them? Partly because
of my obligation, but largely because I
want to he their friend. The American
philosophe, Ralph Waldo Emerson, once
wrote, "The only way to have a friend is
to be one."
Now "friends" seem to be identical
with "neighbors", but these people are
not always "friendly" to me. Some of my
friends or neighbors were rather cold to
me at first, but as I tried to help or
serve them in some way, they turned out
to be among my neighbors. Once they
have become my "neighbors", I am ready
to help them as much as possible.
There were and are some people I
cannot help hating, but I would like to be
their neighbor. My innate character may
say, "No, you cannot", but I know there is
one way it is possible. That is to trust
in the Lord Jesus Christ who was crucified
for us all and rose again three clays
Through him, I'M sure I can make
l'rinc::3 even with those I hate. Thinking
of our past, wesoon notice that we
SEPTEMBER 29, 1996
have committed many sins, but those
sins have been forgiven through our faith
in Him. Since we have been forgiven, we
are also expected to forgive anyone who
has done us harm.
At present, I am ready to help
those who say they need my help and they
are all my friends, but I hope I will be
able to become the neighbor even of
those who may hate me through the help
of Jesus Christ.
(TOMOYASU KIMURA, Nishi, Nagoya)
There is no neighborhood in the
place where we live because our house is
located on the way to Kakuzan Park,
which belongs to Tsuyama City, so our
house has been standing by itself for
more than fifty years. Fortunately a
policeman patrols this area every night
since a few years ago, but we have never
met nor seen him. Even though it is their
job, we are grateful to the patrolmen. On
the south and east of our house is the
site of the old castle, which has been
converted into a public garden.
Some years ago, some exhibitions
at a corner of the Tsuyama Christian Library
were stolen on a rainy night. Since
then, we installed a security bell there
and in our house also. I set it every night
before I go to bed. The head of our cornmunity
is very kind to us and we have
been able to live in a quiet place for a
long time. We are thankful to him and to
our God. (TAMAKO MORIMOTO,Tsuyama)
I live in a rural area and most of
our neighbors are farmers. Thirteen
households make up our neighborhood
group. The most important job of the
group is to carry out funeral ceremonies
without any problem. The head of the
group is designated chairman of a funeral
ceremony and other members should
give their support.
The services offered by the group
are the following: Reception?receiving
obituary offerings and preparing a list of
"DAILY WORD" ECHOES 5
donors; Cooking--preparing food for 300
relatives, classmates of the bereaved
family and others in attendance; Packaging--
putting a box of sugar, a can of
juice and mushrooms into about 600 paper
bags in return for the obituary offerings;
Serving--serving the prepared food
and even alcoholic beverages to those in
attendance; Traffic Control--directing
cars to the parking lot. About 100 people
participate in these supporting activities
on the day and the previous night of
a funeral.
Nowadays, it is difficult to take
off two days for the ceremony. Recently,
I attended a funeral ceremony in an
urban area. It was held at a community
center in a simple and rational way. Our
rural, time-consuming methods must be
changed as soon as possible.
The other job of the neighborhood
group is maintaining roads. Now, all
roads have been paved so we only cut
branches that extend over the roads or
mow the grass. Twenty years ago, these
roads were not paved and we used to
work on them all day long.
(YOSHIHISA KAWAHARA,Mihama,Aichi)
While my husband was working for
the government as an official, we were
allowed to live in a government house.
When he retired in 1965, our doomsday
arrived. We had to leave there and find a
house of our own. Even then, real estate
in Tokyo was so expensive that we did
not expect to live in one of the 23 wards
of Tokyo. Very fortunately, however, we
were able to find a small house on leased
land at a reasonable price, very close to
the government house we had lived in for
four years until then and had to leave.
We have now lived here in M eguro Ward;
Tokyo, for a total of 35 years.
While my boys were students at the
junior high school in the community, I
naturally made friends with mothers of
their friends and others in the neighborhood,
but after they left that community
6 SEPTEMBER 29, 1996
school and entered a senior high school
far away, I found that such ties became
weaker year after year. In 1974, when I
was suddenly asked to assume the position
of a volunteer welfare worker, I was
very surprised, but I thought that since
we had decided to make our home here, it
was necessary for us to have good
relationships with our neighbors and
accepted the position. [continued with
that job for 21 years until I retired in
1995. In 1977, 1 became a volunteer
probation officer and am still active in
that job. Even now, I am involved with
many activities in the community and
leading quite a busy life. These activities
are all quite tedious but important,
nonetheless. I can learn much through
that job and urge myself to fulfill my responsibilities
as faithfully as possible.
Meguro, where I live, is situated in
the southwest part of To:o.io proper. The
population is a:aout 240,000, down from
190,000, now ranking #14. The ratio of
senior citizens and single-member house--
holds is high, as in other a:.eas of Tokyo.
Foreign resiclort registration is about
8,000. I remember when I was a child,
Meguro had quite a rural air, especialiy
the comic story, "A Mackerel Pike In
Meguro The Shooun Was Fond Of", is very
famous. Now, it is known as a residential
distrjct near the heart of Tokyo.
Compared with other wards of Tokyo, its
amenity is good, I hear. Even in my neighborhood,
many houses are being pulled
down and rei.:laced with condominiums
and apartment buildings.
We Japanese used to form communities
in which we befriended one another
and cooper;:iH when in need, but we
cannot expect L.) have that kind of situation
today in ti-oa midst of such drastic
social and eco'oornic changes. Yet, we
need to 'Make every possible effort to
improve the Even though there
still are -many pcob:ems to be solved, I
wish say tha the level of welfare
sEn-vicEs, recyclii and various kinca of
"DAILY WORD" ECHOES
community services provided by the ward
office have risen greatly with the
collaboration of the citizens. I realize
this through my job. For example, we appredate
those people who offer the
space in front of their private residences
as waste collection points, try to
separate the waste orderly when they
think it necessary and work to keep the
area clean.
was not born in Meguro, but since
I came to live here, I would like to love
my neighborhood and lead a happy life
with my neighbors.
(MICHIKO KAWAMURA, Meguro, Tokyo)
In my neighborhood, there is a nice
park and next to it, on a hill, is the Tobe
Shrine surrounded by trees. This is my
favorite place for walking and exercising
in the morning. 1 refresh myself with
the rising sun, the fresh air and the
chirping of birds. It is also a joy for me
to observe the ever-changing trees,
plants and flowers. All of them really
comfort me.
In the park, I encountered a group
of senior citizens faoi.Afing NHIK's radio
exercise program at 6:30 in the morning.
Stranger that I was, I greeted an older
man and asked if I might join them. He
welcomed me, saying, "We're happy to
have as many?people? as enjoy it". I was
pleased to hear that. The next morning, I
reached the place a little earlier and was
standing there with happy anticipation.
But a woman came later and said to me,
"This is my place . Everyone has their own
particular place". Greatly embarrassed, I
moved to the opposite side of the area. I
wondered, is this a kind of territorial instinct
of ar-lrnals? I had never known
such a sense of territory as existed
there Another time, a man exercising
behind he abruptly whispered to
step forward a little."
Unwillingly, i _lid as he said, but his
inipoae mannei m2de me sad.
SEPTEMBER 29, 1996
One day when the exercise was
over, I thanked an elderly man who
brought his radio every morning for us.
He smiled and said, "I'm just repaying the
favors I have received from others for
many years. This is what I can do now."
I was moved greatly, felt happy and my
heart was warmed.
These are some experiences associated
with my new neighbors recently.
(SADAE HASHIMOTO, Minami, Nagoya)
The other day, the doorbell rang. I
went to the door and found a woman I did
not know standing there. She introduced
herself and said that she and her family
had moved into the neighborhood, three
doors away from my house, the previous
day. She expressed the hope that we
would have good neighborly relations and
I said the same to her. This was the second
such experience I have had recently.
Several days before, I exchanged similar
greetings with strangers who appeared
at my door. They also were newcomers.
I noticed that three new houses had
been built on a plot of land after an
elderly couple who had lived there for
many years departed some time ago. That
plot of land, formerly occupied by only
two persons, has come to be inhabited by
several people. This is an example of a
recent trend for residential areas like
mine to become more densely populated.
My family and I were newcomers ,
here ,nearly fifteen years ago. When we
looked for a new residence in the western
suburbs of Tokyo, a couple of our
conditions were that it be in a quiet,
residential area not too far from a train
station. After ruling out a few other
possibilities, we came across the present
place and decided to settle here because
it met the above conditions.
On holidays, young children play
merrily on the street in front of my
house. ft is quite pleasing to hear their
cheerful voices. Sometimes, one of them
rings my doorbell and asks me to let him
"DAILY WORD" ECHOES 7
into my yard to bring back a ball which
happened to stray off course. I am willing
to respond favorably. "Thank you."
"Not at all." I am happy to exchange such
words.
Before coming to this neighborhood,
we heard that it was a fairly highclass
residential area, but as.time passes,
we have come to realize that the area
is only inhabited by ordinary people,
except for a few prominent persons living
here and there. That is not what matters,
however. We are satisfied with
the amiable people who live in our neighborhood.
(SHOJI SUGIMOTO, Suginami, Tokyo)
It was not until I had two children
-that I really realized the importance of
the neighborhood and came to appreciate
my neighbors in relation to raising my
children. I have been helped by many
neighbors. Now my children are elementary
school pupas, but we still have occasions
when we can't do without neighbors'
cooperation.
Thiys ear, I'm one of the members
of the association for children and we
are now very busy preparing for the summer
festival, making an omikoshi for the
children's parade. Beside this festival,
we have many annual events such as the
Bon Dance, physical exercise in the nearby
park during summer vacation, the traditional
festival of the local shrine in
the fall, a joyful Christmas gathering, a
welcome party for the new first graders
and a farewell party for the graduating
sixth graders. Those events cannot be
done by one family alone and by joining
with others, children can learn various
things which they can't get at school or
in their own families. It's said that the
neighborhood raises children as well as
their parents, Chiiki ga ko o sodateru.
We have another saying about the
neighborhood. "Sometimes your neighbors
are more reliable and helpful than
your relatives living far away." Tau no
8 SEPTEMBER 29, 1996
shinseki yori, chikaku no tanin. If suddenly
something bad happens to you, it's
your neighbors that can give the fastest
aid. And we should remember that such
quick and warm aid cannot be given unless
we maintain good relationships with
our neighbors in everyday life.
Compared to the past, especially in
the cities, more and more people are
paying less attention to their neighborhood.
But you and your home are in the
center of your neighborhood. So I should
think that trying to keep a proper distance
from one another, and getting along
with neighbors will make life more
enjoyable and full of variety.
(I II KUWAHARA,Nakagawa,Nagoya)
messap:, cSubiect 4,309)
Among ..:lcient peoples, communication
over a distance was sometime.T
accomplished 1.-v beating on a drum or
sending smoke signals. During the past
two centuries, telegraph/telephone communication
17:s- been transmitted over
electric wires. Then "wireless" electrical
communicnion was developed. Originally,
"wirelessu was used for radio .or
wireless teleg,-...,ohy, but 'nowadays, we
often hear a bail ring in a device carried
in someone's pocket and see .people speaking
into a device along the street, in private
cars, public transportation vehicles
or other public places. Such wireless
pocket bells and cellular telephones have
become very pop:ilar in Japan these days.
Many listeners readers have probably
had some experiences with the^?either
using them; being irritated by them,
wanting to have them, etc. What do you
think of such e':I/ices. ? What are their
advantages ordicivantages?you
"DAILY WORD" ECHOES
made use of them or do you plan to do so
in the future?
*************************
Human beings have directed their
efforts to long-distance communication
from of old. Dr. Offner mentioned drum
beats and smoke signals as examples.
The traditional Japanese method was a
signal fire. A rocket was sent aloft as a
signal of something. Wireless telegraphy,
invented by Marconi in the early part
of this century, was epoch-making.
During the war, when I was a middleschool
boy, we were taught signs corresponding
to teach kana syllable used in
wireless telegraphy. Maybe the military
thought that it would be necessary when
we became combatants. By the way, flag
signaling was another essential subject
for us boys to learn during the war.
The invention of the telephone was
undoubtedly one of the most remarkable
events in the history of science. The appearance
of wireless telephones was also
beyond my poor scientific imagination.
About ten years ago, I happened to
ride in the car of the president of a private
company and was surprised to see
him make a telephone call in the car. It
might have been at the beginning of the
age of wireless telephones. After that,
the modem convenience has spread rapidly.
Tothv, it is a common convenience.
In keeping with its proliferation, the
price is decreasing day by day; it is no
longer an unattainable product. It is very
popular now. As a result, the wireless
telephone system has begun to exert a
negative influence upon our daily lives.
Some people use the wireless telephone
on the street or in public transportation
vehicles. These ways of using
tcephones is unpardonable. I7 they ,have
them in they sd uld do so
out cf sight of u_hers, if pass::-. Some
talk into while wali<i:T. or sitSEPTEMBER
29, 1996
Ling in a seat of a bus or train. The most
inadmissible use of the device is while
driving a car. This is very dangerous because,
as a matter of course, they cannot
concentrate their attention on driving.
Actually many accidents are reported as
a result. I hear that an amendment of the
Road Traffic Act is already under investigation
to prohibit such foolish acts,
which I think is quite natural.
I have no intention of obtaining a
wireless telephone for the time being.
First of all, I seldom go anyplace where
cannot find a telephone. The only occasion
which comes to my mind when I
might need one is when I drive my own
car and cannot reach my destination on
time, being caught in a traffic jam. But I
will not have such an experience even
once a year. Moreover, I can avoid such
an emergency by starting early. Wireless
telephones are sold very cheaply
now. Some shops sell them for ten yen.
But in order to use the device, we must
be prepared to pay a subscription charge
and a monthly fee in addition to the original
price. This device may continue to
be a nonessential item for me, even i n
the future.
(MIKIHIKO YOSHIMOTO, Gifu)
At home, we still use a heavy,
black, old-style telephone. On such a device,
you don't want to dial 0 many times..
You, of course, have to re-dial from the
beginning after hearing a busy signal. I f
you use it for longer than ten minutes,
your wrist starts complaining about its
weight. You have to cover the receiver
with your hand when you don't want to be
heard at the other end of the line.
At the office, I use a modern push
button phone with many convenient functions.
There is no difference in the time
it takes to dial a 0 and a 1. The re-dial
button saves a lot of time. The lightweight
receiver makes a long conversation
easier. The music button assures
you that you are not heard.
1-_cAis6q ki"4 ,D (A I1L1YW? O(R16D-,')0" E 1C1Hc kOgEaSp pi),9
However, my progress related to
communication devices stops here. I
have never used a wireless telephone. I
understand it is a useful gadget for some
people, but not for me. I don't mean I
agree with the _Luddites ,who destroyed
machinery during the industrial revolution
two hundred years ago. I am not allergic
to new technologies. I just don't
like the feeling of being linked with others
all the time. I do not like being disturbed
when I want to be alone.
Nevertheless, whether I like it or
not, it seems that the time has come to
buy a new telephone for our home. The
other day, my daughter said her friend
froze when she tried to use our telephone.
She could not figure out what to
push for she had never before used a dial
phone. I don't remember when it was
that all the old public telephones were
replaced by push-button phones.
(TOSHIAKI MIYAKE, Yokohama)
My son uses a cellular telephone
with which he can call from a long distance.
It is convenient for people who
are in an emergency situation. I have one
which can be used only in my house. I
take it with me everywhere in the house
so I can make use of it immediately. If I
do not have it with me, perhaps I cannot
answer the phone until it rings fifteen
times even' though I run to it as quickly
as I can.
I had little interest in cellular
telephones until I heard today's "Daily
Word" message. I am satisfied with my
present telephone and do not want another
one. I know, however, that many boys
and girls at high school have them and
many traffic accidents occur from their
misuse. By chance I found a large advertisement
in the newspaper about cellular
telephones. I feel I have a lack of understanding
about the present situation related
to cellular telephones and many
other things also.
(MICHIKO SANO, Ivlinami, Nagoya)
10 SEPTEMBER 29, 1996
Cellular telephones are unnecessary
for our daily lives. One of their advantages
is that they are portable. They
may be put in one's pocket and used anywhere.
One of the disadvantages is that
they disturb pe-ople nearby. I have never
made use of one and do not plan to do so
in the future.
My husband and I are advanced in
years and it is difficult for us to use
such modern devices as cellular telephones.
Recently, I have heard that using
cellular telephones may interfere with
other electric waves, so I will never use
such a telephone even if it is very convenient.
We must not be . egoists and
cause trouble to others. That is an important
principle in public morality
(TAMAKO MORIM010, Tsuyama)
Like my previous comments related
to computers, t do not think that celluI2-
telephones t:,_.n.Iselves are harmful. Rath -
er, they can be very useful, especially in
emergencies. For example, when a rely -
tive is seriously ill. One of my colleagues
at Cl Musa High School told me
the other day that he always carries a
cellular telc.';p!Tone these days for 1-1;sfather
may at any moment. Many o",-'
my students, :Tri)wever, have no need to
carry one. Wha is irritating to me is to
see some s-'cLcients walking along the
corridor with a cellular telephone at
their ear, talkie I g in a loud voice. I have
doubts why they do so.
Speaking of cellular telephones, I
remember one annoying experience I had
when I attended a wedding ceremony in
Kagawa, Shikoku. One "sistc.,,r" at Shiga
Church married "brother" a Christian
Church in Kagawa. During the wedding
ceremony, I a man talking and
laughing into a cellular telephone, which
was really shoc!Ki.;-.1.'1 : om e.
One thing another is haing
invented in the7hat it will
fit" us all, but they really m:,7L!,:c.u_r;
"DAILY WORD" ECHOES
lives better? We should stop _ to consider
what kind of conveniences are really
good for us. If something is found unnecessary,
we should refrain from getting
it even if everyone else tries to get one.
(TOMOYASU KIMURA, Nishi, Nagoya)
Recently we see some people using
cellular telephones in shinkansen trains
and on the street. I presume they are so
busy that they want to save time by not
going to a public telephone booth. However,
I sometimes find them speaking
loudly, saying not very important things
into cellular telephones on the street.
Some of them talk, using this kind of
telephone, while they are driving their
private cars. Isn't it dangerous for the
people waiking on the street and for the
drivers themselves? Even if they use
those conveniences in the train, . they
must take care not to cause trouble to
other passengers who become irritated.
It is regrettable that such modern
conveniences as cellular telephones and
pocket hells may make people lazy and
reluctant to carry telephone cards. But
these wireless phones are very helpful
for people who have no coins on trains
and for doctors or ministers who may
receive emergency messages when they
are away i'rom their hospitals or churches.
I hear that in the rear future, in the
21st century in Japan, 1.500,000 people,
including adults and children, will have
their own cellular telephones. It makes
society more complicated and busier. It
is awful to think about ft.
But residents who live in remote
areas of the world need cellular telephones
to communicate with people in
the next village who are their co-workers
where there are no telechone lines. I
am sure that cellular telephcnes will be
used effectively by those who really
need them.
(KAZU:KO TAGUCHI, I-Tukushima)
SEPTEMBER 29, 1996
Nowadays, I see many people talking
on cellular phones in various places,
along streets, in trains or offices and so
on. They seem convenient and at the
same time unsettling. In this essay, how
ever, I would like to consider whether or
not they are beneficial as a new technological
device.
In general, we should giVe careful
consideration to the use of new technology
in relation to the whole system, including
cost, convenience, trouble, the
energy problem and so on. What at first
seems convenient is too often found to
be not so. The final decision depends on
its practical use over a certain period.
As telephones are a basic, widelyused
means of communication, it is i mportant
to establish a simple and universal
system for their use. So far, cellular
telephones are apparently for the specific
use of a limited number of people,
though I don't know the details. This is
the main reason I don't use them. Another
reason is that they are too unsettling.
Still, I'm not against new technology.
As for a telephone, I often use it
just as an answer phone so that I don't
have to pick up the receiver immediately.
This works well for me.
(TOSHIYIJKI KOTERAZAWA, Kasugai)
One day, it surprised me to hear a
passerby .on the street speaking loudly to
himself and laughing rudely. At first, I
wondered what was the matter with him,
but when I got a closer look at .him,I f
ound that he was using a cellular telephone.
He looked like he was absorbed i n
speaking to the other party on the phone.
I feared his absorption in talking might
cause a serious accident due to
carelessness.
It goes without saying that one
must not use inflammables near a fire.
Similarly, one should not use this convenient
device in certain places. In fact,
medical equipment in a hospital reportedly
stopped l'unctioning because care-
"DAILY WORD" ECHOES 11
less speakers used that device. Probably
they did not know the device used a network
of radio stations to pass on signals
and that the use of a portable telephone
may affect the normal working of electrical
appliances.
Afa tal accident caused by the use
of the sophisticated device was also reported.
A man was hit and killed by a
truck driver using the cellular telephone
while driving. It is out of the question
for a driver to use the device while driving.
Using the cellular phone is one thing
while driving a car is another. You can
never pay attention to two different
things at the same time. That's how people
are made. All drivers should bear
this in mind and abstain from using the
device no matter how convenient it may
be. (SHOJI SUGIMOTO, Suginami, Tokyo)
The front page of the Asahi Shinbun
of August 7th featured news of traffic
accidents caused by drivers using
cellular telephones. There were 128 accidents
resulting in injuries and one resulting
in death just during the month of
June. The National Police Agency made a
nationwide investigation of traffic accidents
resulting in injury or death that
occurred while a driver was using a cellular
telephone. According to this investigation,
accidents occurred when the
drivers were about to answer the phone
in 54 cases (41..9%), when they were
about to call in 4,0 cases (31%), while
talking on the phone in 21 cases (16.31%)
and when about to turn the phone off in 7
cases (5.4%).
There were no accidents resulting
in injuries or deaths due to .a regular telephone
installed in a car. The National
Police Agency considered the probability .
of accidents resulting from ? the use 'of
cellular phones to be high and decided to
revise the driving rules which are taught
to learners. New instructions such as
not to use a cellular phone while driving
or to turn off the phone before driving
12 SEPTEMBER 29, 1996
will be added to the textbook. The National
Police Agency also is going to make
a scientific investigation about drivers'
reactions, concentration and coordination
while using a telephone.
According to research conducted. by
Japanese police related to cellular telephone
policy abroad, it was found that
Switzerland banned the use of cellular
phones in cars, except for those that can
be used without using one's hands.
The Ministry of Post and Telecommunication
has been conducting broad
research on many issues relating to cars,
roads and traffic systems and is going to
set up an investigation committee related
to cars and electric waves.
In Aichi Prefecture, 16 car accidents
resulting from the use of cellular
telephones occurred in June. This number
was the highest for all Japan. Last
year, 70 car accidents Declared in one
year in Aichi and this year there were
by the end of iane. Now that there is increasing
use of such phones, the prefectural
police department is afraid that
serious accic:.: nts will result However,
on the prefectural level, neither scien--
tific analysis has been made nor have
countermeasures been taken for the time
being. Prefectural police have been appealing
-to c;:-ivers to make calls from
safe places since mid-June. .
I persdeelly don't like cellular
telephones no matter how convenient
they are. I annoyed to see someone
talking on the cellular phone walking
along the street or sitting on a train.
Those who uee cellular telephones in
public places don't consider the people
around them an regard the place where
they are as t! :r own. They are not
aware that they are invading an area that
does not belong ta) them.
Many your .j businessmen have cellular
telephone:_ ?by their companies,
They at :1,17:0Sed to use ft even
while driving. I executives should
su(-...;gest o their ,.::..lbordinates not '.c) an-
"DAILY WORD" ECHOES
saver the phone
is important, but
while driving. Business
life is more important.
(NAOMI KONDO, Handa)
Last November, a young car salesman
came to my place to sell me a car
when I was thinking of changing my old
car for a new one. He visited my house a
few times to accomplish his business.
Every time he appeared at the entrance,
he stood with a cellular telephone in his
hand, or in both hands when he didn't
have to carry his attache case. I felt
very sorry for him because he was constantly
under the control of this electric
device. Wherever he might go away from
his office: building, hp could- never be
free from his boss or ?his company. He
was tied to a telephone wire, although it
was wireless.
On his third visit, he was allowed
to drive his boss's car to my place so
that I coind make a trial run of the same
type of Car I wanted to buy. While i was
driving to the ward office to get the
documents required -to purchase a car,
the salesman's cellular telephone began
to ring. "What's up?" I asked. "It's from
my boss", the salesman answered from
the back seat. "He said he was starving
because he left his lunch box in this car."
Various kinds of articles regarding
cellular .celephones appear in the newspaper
these days. Some articles show
their great benefits. Thanks to communication
on cellular telephones, some
lives were saved on a river or in the
mountains. In the Great Hanshin Earthquake,
cellular telephones helped many
people in the area communicate over a
distance when the usual telephone service
was not available. On the other hand,
other articles indicated their negative
aspects. For example, using them while
driving a car has been the cause of many
traffic accidents. Their electric waves
caLead trouble w:th electroeft..: medical
eqH,-..aient when ay were us:el in hospitak
as is '.'!n said, the manners
SEPTEMBER 29, 1996
of those using phones in public places
are sometimes unbelievably bad.
However convenient and helpful
cellular telephones may be, I don't feel
like having one because I don't like to be
interrupted while doing something even
when I am out of the house. And when
see people speaking into a device while
walking along the street, I cannot help
feeling as if we were walking toward an
abnormal society.
(KIKUKO KUWAHARA,Nakagawa,Nagoya)
Since Alexander Bell invented the
telephone in 1876, it has become the
most important means of communication.
It was introduced into Japan in
1877, only one year after its invention in
the U. S. It can transmit the sound of a
voice to any receiver on the same line
and the line from one telephone can be
connected to almost any other telephone
in the world.
In 1890, public telephone service
was inaugurated in Tokyo and Yokohama,
which was some years before the public
recognized the importance of the telephone.
The demand for telephone service
grew with the modernization of the economy.
In response to the growing demand
and diversity of the telephone, a novel
improvement has been made out of necessity:
the wireless telephone. "Necessity
is the mother of invention."
When we- receive a call while taking,
a bath, we are able to answer immediately
from the bathroom. it is also
available for anyone, including visitors,
to use the portable telephone outside of
our house, making it unnecessary for
them to enter the house. The other day, a
man rang our doorbell and explained to
me that he was lost and unsure where he
was. I obtained the telephone number of
his destination and he understood where
to go after talking with someone at his
destination by our wireless telephone
without entering our house.
"DAILY WORD" ECHOES 13
On the other hand, there are disadvantages
related to wireless telephones.
it has recently been reported by the National
Police Agency that there were129
traffic accidents on the road during only
one month (alas, Aichi Prefecture, where
I live, had the worst record--16 of the
129), which were caused by drivers who
were using the telephones in their cars
while driving. Most of the accidents
were caused by drivers who received a
call while driving. As to the kind of
accident, rear-end collisions were most
common--98 out of the 129. There is no
problem with a car telephone that is
fixed at a certain place. The problem
arises when drivers fumble for a portable
telephone while they are driving. It
is 'thought that the attention of most
drivers is distracted when a bell rings.
They have to look for the portable telephone
instead of focusing their attention
on their driving. According to the Ministry
of Post and Telecommunications,
12,400,000 portable telephones are now
being used throughout the country as of
June 1996, i.e., ten percent of the Japanese
own a portable telephone. Consequently,
troubles related to portable
telephones have remarkably increased.
On public transportation vehicles, many
passengers frown when others talk on a
portable telephone or when a calling bell
rings. Such a noise may be heard even in
a theater. A more serious problem is
that the electromagnetic waves from
portable telephones interfere with the
operation of medical equipment.
The problem that puzzles me is
whether or not people are aware of these
disadvantages. Can they overcome them?
Wireless, portable telephones were developed
to make our lives convenient, incorporating
high technology, but this
technological convenience has backfired.
In conclusion, it is up to those who
use wireless telephones to act responsibly.
In Switzerland, a new traffic regulation
will be issued in September 1996.
14 SEPTEMBER 29, 1996
Those who use wireless telephones while
driving will be liable for a 100 Swiss
franc fine. Should there be a stiff fine
for Japanese drivers who use wire-less
telephones? The "Hello, hello" in a car
should be said after bringing the car to a
halt. (JAIME IWAI, Owariasahi)
- I d
on't know whether or not I
would have used a wireless telephone if
my daughter, who had studied in Tokyo
for four years, did not bring one home
after she graduated from university.
Anyway, I'm using it now, thankful for
its convenience. When I play the piano
while nobody else is at home, I usually
bring it to the room where the piano is.
If it is necessy to move 'co the living
room while caring, that is possible. i t
is true that its "wirelessness" brings
convenience, but it is also true that the
convenience is. accompanied by something
wrong.
Somme onths ago, I had a phone c a 11
from a woman who is the same age as my
daughter. was my coworker when
was working 1:1t h at company and she
now the moti-.Tr of a young son. Still
now, after years have passed since
my retirement, she kindly gives
information a -:eut the company. When
received her p`lane call, I bathing.
ante were us the ordinary telephone ,
my wife wouid have declined to take her
call, saying husband is now out for a
short walk" or something that, but
she instantly brought the portable telephone
to me. .As a result, I couldn't help
talking for more than fifteen minutes
while naked in -d small bathroom. It was
no problem for me to have remained naked
for more th? fifteen minutes for the
caller had no of my situ don. But
my daughter, vii:H Dw as aware of all that
happened, was very displeased with her
and I am still no T_ sure why.
These d I come across young
men who are into a clevic.s. along
the street, on e si-inkansen arid ,even
"DAILY WORD" ECHOES
while driving a car. When I see them, I
wonder what they do in their regular
offices. We should be very thankful for
this convenient device, but we must consider
how to use it most appropriately.
(HARUJI FUKUM1, Minami, Nagoya)
*************************
July 16 Message (Subject #310)
Nowadays, there are countless computer
games that children, young people
or adults become absorbed in at the expense
of a healthy social life. As a result,
I pn?.sume that uaditional Japanese
board games such as go and shOgi are no
longer a popular as before. When I was
a child, I sometimes played checkers
with my father and chess with my brother.
I also played checkers with my children
at Limes when thay were young, but
I have i7ot played such games fcr many
years. ''hat about you? Do you ever play
go or s O g i these days? Did you play
them in years gone by? What do you
think of .!.-hese games and their place in
Japanese life in the past, the present and
the fut[iie?
**********:?:************..,:*
When 1 was a child, I, some times
played go or shOgi with my father. However,
since I became a father, I have never
played them with my daughters. As
noted in the "Daily Word" message of July
16, they seem to be no longer as popular
as before in my home, too.
I cannot think of any special reason
for that. Although I am using my
personal computer (PC) to write this. essay,
I don't think I spend too much time
wfth it. There just have been so many
l<k1Js. of aci:iviti(?s these days. Such a
SEPTEMBER 29, 1996
diversity of ways to spend time is likely
to be the reason in my case.
? Nowadays
, many people play shogi
on a computer display. You can play it,
like many other computer games, by
yourself. That is the very point I am
concerned about. It's true that the longer
time you spend along with your PC, the
less you talk with your family or friends.
However, I don't know whether we
really sacrifice "a healthy social life"
for PCs as was indicated. Some PC fans
might say they enjoy "talking" through
Internet with their friends. It must be
included as a new style of social life. Of
course, the question remains whether or
not it is healthy.
(TOSHIAK1 MIYAKE, Yokohama)
Both go and shogi are believed to
have been introduced into Japan in the
8th century by Japanese envoys and
monks to China. ShOgi traces its origins
all the way back to India or Persia. At
first go was played by the aristocracy,
but from the 1 3th century its popularity
gradually spread. In the Edo era, the
shogunate encouraged the playing of
these games among common people as
intellectual exercises. Today,. go is enjoyed
by 10 million people and shOgi by
20 million of all ages from grade school
children through retirees. If they are
compared, go is, if anything, more refined
or noble than shOgi from a historical
viewpoint. In my boyhood, I usually
observed adults in the neighborhood enjoying
themselves playing shogi on a
bench in the summer evening while others
were watching the game, standing
nearby. shogi was enjoyed by the common
people. On the other hand, go was
played mainly at clubs where people had
to pay to play. Herein I find a difference
between the fans of these two games.
Computer games are very popular
now, but these games cannot be played
without a computer. On the contrary, go
and shogi can be played very easily. Co
"DAILY WORD" ECHOES 15
and shOgf.sets are sold even at the price
of a few hundred yen. (Of course, those
of good quality cost hundreds of thousands
of yen.) Simple sets are convenient
to carry and can be used even in a
train while traveling. In offices, people
often enjoy playing during the noon recess.
It used to be said that friends
made through study or calligraphy were
good company in the children's world and
friends made through shOgi or go were
supposed to be bad company. But these
games are now considered intellectual
games which cultivate good judgment.
Speaking of go or shogi, Mr. Ha.bu's
recent activity in the field of shOgi i s
remarkable. He has won seven major titles
sponsored by seven newspaper publishers.
He is a gentle-mannered, newlymarried
young man in his twenties. As
the result of publicity about his feats,
the popularity of go and shOgi has been
increased further. I heard a funny story
of a mother who encouraged her son to
study shogi instead of attending a cram
school, but ordinary people should not
simply follow his example because he is
extraordinarily bright. He can play .shOgi
in his head. He can defeat computers
which are stuffed with all possible facts
about shOgi. I think this is not Limusual,
considering that a computer is, after all,
a device produced by a human brain.
(NUMMI). YOSHIMOTO, Gifu)
I know the rules of both go and
shogi. My father was a go player of the
third rank, so he taught me them when I
was young. But I have never played them.
I played similar games with simpler
rules, such as hasami shogi or gornoku
narabe. To play these games, only two
persons are needed, but we cannot play if
we don't have the equipment. We have
the equipment in our house, but no one
uses it. I think the games are useful to
encourage mental growth.
I remember going for a walk with
my mother on a summer evening down16
SEPTEMBER 29, 1996
town. Some men, women and children
were enjoying themselves, each in their
own way, out-of-doors. Some men played
shOgi right at the front of a house at that
time. It was the first time I saw such a
sight. My mother said it was en-dal
shOgi and go was called oyashiki go. 1
could not understand the meaning nor the
Japanese characters. Endai is a bench
and oyashiki is a Japanese-style room. I
think of endal .f:7hOgai s being popular and
warm and oyshiki go as being elegant
and calm. These words are perhaps no
longer used and the images of the games
have probably changed.
(MICHIKO SANO, Minami, Nagoya)
Nowadays, children's games ece
quite different from the games vie
played half a century ago. They are absorbed
in pk-i.,:ng computer games that
their generoes parents provide them at
home. Some tai' them go to a game center
to find more of computer games to
play. Of CO :se, adults ;:.'so participate
in the benefi: of computei-s so they
not restrain children from playig
computer garr,.s, but I am sure it is not
so good for thi.:?ir health to spend so much
time playing games. And it is regrettable
ak if traditenal Japanese
games such as cro and shOij are no loe(;-
er as popular before.
In the. 3 os, there vvas an ave.:-
night watch 3tem amorT male teach
ers in turn in a public scH.)ols In Japan.
We female to :hers also took our turns
on Sundays anC other national holidays
until 4:30 in 3 afternoon. Those mal,
teachers enjo,:ed their night duties
twice a week a small school) because
they cooked t ? own suppers and breakfasts
and play ao with a janitor after
going on their l:rolling rounds.. ,In a corner
of that 'night-duty room,
there. was a set of go. They roust have
had fun playingii iaelaxatio'n. LI such a
case, go is much than a cemputer
Tame. Nowadaya, :..-duty and
"DAILY WORD" ECHOES
duty systems are no longer in operation.
However popular computer games are,
people over 60 years of age must be go
and shOgi fans and some youngsters are
being influenced by their fathers.
When I was a junior high school
girl, I played the board game, haruma, a
kind of chess. On the board, there was a
white hexagon surrounded by six colored
triangles, two red, two yellow and two
green. All of them were partitioned into
many smaller triangles, with spots on
each angle to stop the pieces. The three
players put ten pieces each on the colored
'triangles and moved each of the ten
pieces of the color they liked, transferring
them to the same-colored triangle
on Vie other side, competinc, in speed.
This game was brought by our eldest
sister. We enjoyed playing it when our
friends visited us.
I also remember that I played the
game at family ga-.herings and the Japanese
aiphabet card game, iroha, with my
brother and sisters. Even now and in the
future, these games will be appreciated
amon families, especially during the
New ear seasons.
(KAZUKO TAGUCHI, Fukushima)
t is said that these games originated
about 400 y:rs ago in India, then
entered China and thence to J'oan. I am
not ii-;:erested in either go Igo, or
have never played them since 1
was either ly,--fore or af-:i3r I was
married, nor have members of my family.
I think the games or-go and shOui are not
good for the health because they are
played white sitting in a room by players
looking ,.:!own at a sc.-,' re board with horizontal
eeel vertical L. The two players
concentrate on how to beat their opponent.
It may be good for their. brains,
but I don.'t know whether or not the
games will continue in the future -::ar a
time.' ?
Older een particulahy enjoy
them, as a way to =sl time, more
SEPTEMBER 29, 1996
than older women It is good that handicapped
people can play them.
(TAMAKO MORIMOTO, Tsuyama)
I often enjoy reading books written
by top shogi or go players. 1 was quite
happy to learn that they are not only superior
in their special field but acutely
perceptive in their views of life as well.
Reading their books always gives me ample
food for thought. Their books are full
of smart aphorisms which come from
their constant struggles to win their
games. Here are a couple examples of
meaningful precepts I have come across
in reading a dialogue between Habu Yoshiharu
and Yonenaga Kunio in a book.
Asked by Habu about a touchstone
to decide whether to grant an applicant
admission to his private society, Yonenaga
answered that the point is whether
or not an applicant's mother respects her
husband. Thinking highly of each other is
the key to forming a good family, he declared.
And a good family provides the
basis for fostering desirable character
in its members, which has top priority.
As for training in their own arts,
both men assert that the present is already
the past. They positively declare
that being content with things as they
are means nothing but the beginning of
retrogression. Trying to maintain your
present condition which has led to the
best you now enjoy is of no use. Only trying
to do better can assure you of progress.
Otherwise, retrogression awaits
you. They asserted this with one voice.
(SHOJI SUGIMOTO, Suginami, Tokyo)
1 am not interested in go or shOgi.
I have had no experience of playing them
in my life so far, except for the childish
gunjin (soldier) shogi, which was temporarily
popular in the days of militarism.
By nature, I don't like games played
while sitting in a room, but I enjoy
sports played outdoors in the sunshine.
So I don't like to spend time in front of a
"DAILY WORD" ECHOES
17
computer either, even though as an organizer,
I sometimes feel it is inconvenient
to inform friends about a reunion.
In the future, computers may keep
their popularity, but I'm afraid go and
shOgi will become unpopular just like
judo, a genuine Japanese sport, because
they will be overwhelmed by other new
forces.(HARUJI FUKUMI,Minami,Nagoya)
July 23 Message (Subiect #311
Different English words are used to
designate places where people gather to
worship or conduct religious ceremonies.
In Japan, the terms commonly used
to indicate buildings where religious activities
are held differ according to the
religion. Sacred sites related to Shinto
are called "shrines". Buddhists hold ceremonies
in "temples". Christians worship
in "churches" while Muslims pray in
"mosques" Each of these words evoke
a
different image in our minds. It is interesting
that the Chinese character for a
Buddhist temple, or tera, originally was
used for a public office or the imperial
court, denoting a place where work was
done. I would be interested to read what
impression the word tera stimulates in
your mind. That is the suggested theme
for essays this week. Do you ever visit a
Buddhist temple? If so, on what occasions?
What do you consider to be the
function of temples in Japan in the present
day? Now does it differ from former
days? What are your thoughts, memories
or evaluations of Japanese o-tera?
**********************-***
A Buddhist temple, or tera, is a
very familiar word to many Japanese, but
regarding their relationship to the
18 SEPTEMBER 29, 1996
temple, we see a great change, especially
in cities or urban areas.
In former times, every household
was supposed to belong to a certain Buddhist
sect and to have a family temple,
or bodai-ji, with which it kept in close
contact through such events as funeral or
memorial services. In return, the
household, called danka, gave financial
support to the temple. But many city
dwellers who left their hometowns to
begin a new life in the city do not establish
ties with a temple in the city. So, if
such people hold a funeral service in the
city, they leave all the details to an undertaker
and do not care what Buddhist
priests take part so long as they belong
to the same religious sect as the
mourner.
In the country, however, the old
custom of keeping a friendly relationship
with the family temple is still followed.
After the ceremonial service is
over, the priest often preaches to the
people gathered there, giving a moralizing
discourse or speaking on other religious
topics.
Industrial modernization has benefited
us greatly, but we cannot avoid a
confrontation with death or our mortality
by any means. As we advance in age
and approach senility, we are prone to
get depressed. At such a time, I hope
Buddhist temples will play a role in
comforting people in trouble or be the
place for people's souls to be pacified in
one way or another.
As for my mother, who is now 83,
is concerned, she has been a devotee of
the Shingon Sect of Buddhism since she
lost her youngest daughter, then aged 10,
at sea. The daughter drowned due to the
bursting of the inflated floater she was
hanging on to. I often heard her chanting
a sutra in a singsong manner. From my
childhood, a Buddhist temple has been
nearby and I took it for granted that the
tera would always be there, but I was
mistaken. Things are not what they used
"DAILY WORD" ECHOES
to be. Some temple buildings have been
remodeled and converted from wood to
concrete and the successor to the resident
priest is now working in a temporary
position at a computer firm until he
inherits the temple.
We have observed various changes
in temples, inwardly and outwardly, but
what is important is whether the Japanese
are determined to earnestly support
Buddhist temples, or tera. As long as we
exploit temples simply as places to be
used for funeral services, it is difficult
to think temples have a bright future.
(SHOJI DOMAE, Kasugai)
When I hear the word o-tera, I associate
it with funeral services and i ncense
sticks. For me, its only function i s
performing the final ceremonies of our
lives. I have visited many temples to see
old architecture and works of art to add
to my knowledge.
My husband is a representative of
the supporters of our family temple, but
since he does not have a faith, 1 must attend
the meetings. We contributed much
money to build that temple ten years ago
and at a recent meeting the problem of
repairing the roof and changing it to
sheet copper was raised. Perhaps it requires
money again and I must consider
what the temple means to us. I presume
that most Japanese people have no Buddhist
faith even though their religion is
Buddhism. This tendency will increase
as times change.
I went to Hong Kona in June of this
year. I saw many people praying very
earnestly there. I felt that they believed
in their religion. Anyway, we must . pursue
the religion which meets our needs.
It is important to keep a pure mind and
not to become materialistic.
(MICHIKO SAND, Minami, Nagoya)
When I want to talk to my grandmother,
I visit the Buddhist temple, Rohji,
where her grave is. She lived with me
SEPTEMBER 29, 1996
until I was fifteen. Then she-. went to
Saga in Kyush0 and spent her last three
years there with my aunt's family. I was
too young to understand why she had to
move. I only thought she was going to be
happy if she did so. I remember vividly
the day when I went to Tokyo Station
with my parents and brother to see her
off. It was just before sunset. She
smilingly waved her hand from inside the
window of a night train.
After several months passed, I
suddenly realized how important she was
to me. Since then, I wrote a letter to her
whenever I thought of her. She always
answered my letters promptly. As I had
never been to KyCishCi at that time, her
letters seemed to be letters from abroad.
One day, I noticed her writing was not
aligned as straight as before. The characters
she wrote got weaker every time I
received her leter.
During the spring vacation, just
before I entered university, i worked as a
part-timer. Alter working hard a
factory for two \meeks, I alally earned
enoi.h money to visit her. By that time,
she had to stay in bed all day long and
had my aunt wrii:e letters for her. However,
she could recognize me immedia'caly
when she saw me. Two days later, I
fell sick and found I had a fever of above
forty degrees. During the rest of .my
one-v,,eek stay there, I had to lie in bed
withot exchanging words with her. The
morning I left tilere, all of my aunt's
family were surprised when they saw my
grandmother stand with a stick by herself
in order to sae me off. The next
time I saw her was at her funeral ceremony,
'.,,fhich was Ile!d in my aunt's house
three months later. I brought her ashes
back to Tokyo with my father.
I occasionally rniant my grandmother
to listen to me. She is still alive in
my heart. Every time I go to Roh-li, I can
feel her love. Visiting :-.here is very special
to me.
(TOSHIAKIivilY/-`::(E, Yokohama)
"DAILY WORD" ECHOES 19
First, I wish to investigate the literal
meanings of tera and "temple" once
again. As Dr. Offner explained, the Chinese
character for tera has a wider mean
ing (as a public office) than a "Buddhist
temple" and the latter, limited meaning
of the word was introduced to Japan together
with the character by way of Korea.
(By the way, our pronunciation of
tera is said to be derived from the Korean
chol.)
For a long time, I thought that the
English word "temple" was nearly equivalent
to our tera, which is to say that
they corresponded to each other, but the
word "temple" itself has a much wider
meaning. The Oxford Dictionary indicates
that a "temple" is a "building treated as
the dwelling-place or devoted to the
worship of a god" and gives "the Temple
of Jehovah" as an example. An English-
Japanese dictionary at hand, on the other
hand, translates "temple" as "seido (sanctuary)
or shine/en (shrine) (where a deity
other than the Christian God is worshipped)
and gives "the Temple of Apollo
at De!phi", "the Temple of Artemis" and
"the Temple of Heaven in Peking"
, in addition
.to "the Temple of Jehovah" mentioned
above, as examples. The dictionary
also notes that a Protestant Church
in France and a .Mormon Church in Salt
Lake City, Utah, are also called temples.
In light of the above information, I came
to realize that there is not such a distinct
difference between "temple" and
"shrine" (and even "church") and that I
should say "Buddhist temple" or Shinto
shrine" when I specifically refer to our
pin (tera) or jinja.
Now, I will proceed to the main
issue: the present situation of Buddhist
temples in Japan.? In a previous essay
(Subject #262), I mentioned the financial
difficulties of temre:s in our COLI11-
try and noted that the insufficient monetary
offerings by supporters of the temples
has compelled resident priests to
20 SEPTEMBER 29, 1996
involve themselves with many kinds of
side jobs. Managing a kindergarten is one
example. Many people go to the temple
on New Year's Day and cast money into an
offertory chest, but they seldom go there
on ordinary days unless the temple is a
place rich in historical associations or a
beauty spot. A funeral is the most
important event for a temple and a busy
time for the resident priest, but they do
not happen so often. At the time of a pious
Buddhist's death, a posthumous name
is given by the priest for a high price.
When the family has its own established
formalities and a high-level name is given,
the price is exorbitant. Some devoted
people want to be given a posthumous
name during their lifetime, but I do not
think this custom will continue long in
the future. I myself have no intention to
ask our priest to give me such a name.
It is repeatedly said that we Japanese
have no religion, or at least, . are not
enthusiastic in religious activities.
fully realize this fact when I see pious
Buddhists or Muslims in front of temples
or mosques in Asian countries. Buddhist
priests must persevere in their efforts
in order to touch young people's hearts in
order to bring future prosperity to Buddhism.
(IvIIKIHIKO .YOSHIMOTO, Gifu)
Our grandparents on our mother's
side were buried in the cemetery of a
Buddhist temple called Kaiinji beside the
Japan Sea. It is in the village of Karno
in Yamagata Prefecture. The name of the
Buddhist temple means "sea mark temple".
Our uncle and his wife are buried
there also. He had a chance to become a
Christian, but he would not make a
Christian profession of faith, saying that
Buddha's teaching was also good while
my mother confessed h.er Christian faith.
Soon after moving to Yokohama to enter a
Christian school, she began to go to
church and was baptized.
How our relatives in Kamo are no
more.. Once a year, my brother and his
"DAILY WORD" ECHOES
wife and our cousin and his family in
Kyoto go there to place a bunch of flowers
before the grave and talk with a
priest in the temple. It is the only Buddhist
temple where my relatives sleep.
When the sea breezes blow, Kaiinji is not
so gloomy as the other temples in the
village.
I have another memory of a Buddhist
temple. it seems there are many
Buddhists in Japan. However, most of
them don't go to the temple to worship
Buddha. They don't contribute one-tenth
of their income to the temple to support
the priest, so priests sometimes have to
find side jobs,arbeit. The resident priest
of the YugyOji Temple in Fujisawa City i n
Kanagawa Prefecture opened a cheap
lodging house on the temple grounds
about 40 years ago to raise funds. He
hired a cook to prepare meals for the
people who stayed overnight there.
Mrs. Ina Takadama Saito, whom we
call Takadama San, served there, cooking,
cleaning the temple inside and out
and preparing the bath. She had ministered
at Wakamatsu Sakaemachi Church
as a lady evangelist thirty years earlier.
Her husband died soon after her son was
born. She experienced many difficulties
after that. She suffered from a fire, was
robbed of her fortune and subsequently
contracted a skin disease. She felt like
she was Job. ? After her recovery, she
was employed as a cook at YugyOji i n
order to send her son to Kanto Gakuin
University. She worked hard to serve the
lodgers.
I once had an opportunity to visit
her and her son, spending three days
there. The temple was in the city suburbs.
I walked up the long stairway at
the spacious temple site. YugyOji means
"leisure temple"
, but Mrs. Ina Takadama
Saito used to get up very early every
morning, prepare breakfast for more than
ten people and then strike wooden
clappers saying, "Hey, bOzu soma, get up
right away!" The sole resident priest
SEPTEMBER 29, 1996
then chanted Buddhist sutras before the
altar while everyone else washed their
faces and brushed their teeth before
breakfast. After saying good-by to the
lodgers and sending her son to school,
she continued to work. In the evening,
new lodgers came. She served the priest
and many lodgers supper and prepared
their baths and beds. At 7 o'clock on Sunday
evenings, she was free and went to
Fujisawa Church to attend the evening
service, taking her Bible and hymn book.
"My job and religious faith are separate"
,
she said.
In this way, I found out that some
Buddhist temples .in Japan operate inns
as side businesses. I think many more
temples operate sightseeing businesses,
but they should not sell paper charms or
amulet cases.
(I(AZUKO TAGUCHI, Fukushima)
It is our custom to visit a Buddhist
temple at !east twice a year, even though
we are Christians. The remains of our
ancestors ere buried in the graveyerd of
that temple and we also will be buried
there in the future. in ancient 'limes,
corpses were interred in the ground, but
now they are cremated.
The ancestors of my husband were
Buddhists, but his father, who had belonged
to the Shingon Sect ? of Buddhism,
became a .airistian. We must offer some
:cloney (ofuse) to the Buddhist temple at
e.ast twice r year--at obon, in the middle
of the year, and at kure, the end of
che year. We visit the graves on the anniversary
days, bringing some branches
of sakaki, a kind of evergreen, and seasonal
flowers for each grave. We sprinkle
water over the gravestones and pray
in front of them.
In former times, the temple priest,
the owner of the land, swept around each
grave, but recently, he does not do so
(here in Tsuyarna). Recen-cly, Buddhist
priests are apt to get much income from
profit-making enterprises, such as man-
"DAILY WORD" ECHOES 21
aging of kindergartens, parking areas, ?
and so on. I feel that Buddhist temples
are losing their religious aspect, little
by little, in Tsuyama.
(TAMAKO MORIMOTO, Tsuyama)
We live next-door to a temple. I n
1965, we got a house on leased land
owned by the temple. Our lot used to be
a part of the temple ground and the front
yard faces a lane leading to the temple
gate. Many cherry trees were planted on
both sides of the lane. They used to be
much smaller but now have grown very
big. In spring, they put forth beautiful
blossoms, which we enjoy very much. In
summer, they provide us with cool shadows
and clean air with their profuse
green leaves. In fall, they keep us very
busy. We have to tackle the job of sweep
ing up their fallen leaves everyday. In
winter, we just enjoy their silhouettes
against the clear blue sky. Though many
trees have been cut down, they still form
a small wooded area. We are thankful to
be ellowed to live here and try to have a
good relationship with the priest and his
family. Fortunately, they are very kind
to us.
The temple is a branch temple belonging
to the Tenclai Sect. It is not big
but was founded about 400 years ago and
the -site of a famous folk song--Gombei
(a peasant) sows seed and a crow comes
to pick them up--is in the precincts. The
song comically mocks the futile work of
a peasant.
The priest, his wife and their son
lead a very busy life. They have to conduct
funerals, memorial services and assemblies
for the parishioners. The Ten- .
dai Sect has a hierarchical structure, at
the top of which is Hiei-zan. As a priest
of a branch temple, he has to participate
in various kinds of rituals held at higher
temples of the sect. Certainly, the temple
plays a background role in the life of
the community. Though the temple was
rebuilt, it is the oldest, historic site in
22 SEPTEMBER 29, 1996
the community and famous, at least in
Meguro. Some people visit there on a
hiking course to satisfy their curiosity
or to enjoy the atmosphere but not to
worship or seek solace there. I do not
know that the priest gives sermons to
the people in general as pastors do in
Christian churches.
Though quite ignorant of Buddhism,
I suppose that we Japanese try to be
faithful to family-related temples because
of our tradition of ancestor worship.
We think that we owe our existence
to our ancestors, so giving thanks
to them and praying for their peaceful
repose after death are our obligations.
Most Japanese families have Buddhist
altars in which ancestral tablets are
placed. Under the Tokugawa regime, a I
persons were required to be registered
as parishioners of some Buddhist temple
and we still belong to the temples of
various sects. We donate much money to
have funerals or memorial services conducted.
While the ritual is being conducted,
we have to remain seated for a
long time without understanding the
meaning of the sutra at all. I am afraid
we Japanese are so secular that we try
to make use of such occasions just as
reunions of relatives or acquaintances.
I was much impressed to know that
an old lady who attended a Christian funeral
for the first time was amazed at
the passage. quoted .. from First Corinthians,
chapter 13. She said she had never
heard such a wonderful message and
wrote it down to memorize. "What good
words are in the Bible", she remarked.
Certainly, Buddhism seems not to be
competent to serve as a guiding principle
for us Japanese, but Christianity,
which forbids the ancestor worship
which Japanese have been accustomed to
i'or so long, does not seem to be easily
accepU-KI. Though it is said that Confucan
e-chic21 values still survive in Japanse
lire, I. am afraid that Japanese will
"DAILY WORD" ECHOES
become more and more_materialistic and
atheistic and degenerate sooner or later.
(M1CHIKO KAWAMURA, Meguro, Tokyo)
I was deeply impressed with a hypothesis
regarding the invisible power of
Buddhist temples put forward by the late
great writer, Shiba RyOtar6. I will try to
summarize what he wrote.
In the1870's, the Meiji government
issued a decree to abolish Buddhism, including
its temples and scriptures, in
favor of Shintoism and sought to enforce
it. Some prefectures faithfully followed
the decree and destroyed their temples
while others did not do so. As a result,
more temples remained in some prefectures
than in others.
Furthermore, it is interesting to
find that students' average intelligence
in general differs from prefecture to prefecture
and that those prefectures with
more intelligent students also have students
who are generally well-mannered,
which is to say they behave with suitable
decorum on the whole.
It is surprising to find that the
more Buddhist temples a prefecture has,
the higher level of students' intelligence
it enjoys. The writer attributes the difference
to the invisible educational power
of Buddhist temples. In former times,
Buddhist temples functioned as a center
of education as well as of religion in a
loclity. The priests went to and from a
metropolis, bringing back a high level of
learning together with decorum or propriety
and young people were very eager
to gain new knowledge. As a result, the
average level of intelligence among the
general public of the locality rose on the
whole. These facts lead to the conclusion
that the density of Buddhist temples
in a prefecture account for a higher
level of students' intelligence as well as
'their propriety . This is the invisible
educational power of Buddhist temples.
(SHOJI SUGIMOTO, Suginarni, Tokyo)
SEPTEMBER 29, 1996
0-teraia Buddhist temple) reminds
me of a children's song,Myake koyake,
meaning "sunset glow". The lyrics describe
an idyllic evening scene in a rural
area. A temple is standing on the hillside
against the blazing sky after the
sunset and its bell is ringing. Children
go home, hand in hand, and a flock of
crows fly back to their nests.
When I was a small child, most Japanese
were farmers living in villages.
Village life was closely connected with
the Buddhist temple. In the village in
Tochigi Prefecture where I grew up, the
temple was located on the sunny side of
a hill. From there, one could see the
whole village beneath One's feet. Behind
the temple building was a spacious cemetery
where the ancestors of the villagers
were buried. Villagers went there on
many occasions: on vernal and autumnal
equinoxes, a-bon and memorial days of
their family members' deaths. Prieir to
those days, they weeded and cleaned up
the plots belonging to their family and
prepared foods to offer.
Old people gathered in the temple
to listen to lectures the priest made and
to recite sutras together. Elderly people
often had meetings and discussed things
concerning farming plans, educational
problems, village events and so on. Children
played kirno-damashi on summer
evenings. It was a scary experience for
children to go in the darkness between
graves. The temple was also a place for
children to learn morals and ethics.
There was a huge picture depicting the
world after death. Emrna-claio (the king
of hell), a river of blood and a needle
mountain were illustrated in colors.
Children were told that they would be
sent there if they were bad. This picture
made a great impact on them and helped
to prevent them from doing evil deeds.
My family lived in a rustic area for
five years before we moved to a big city .
0-tera is .a nostalgic place for me. It is
related to many events I had with my
"DAILY WORD" ECHOES 23
family, relatives and neighborhood
friends. In particular, I still like the
heavy gong of the bell issuing from the
temple. It lures me to serenity and contemplation.
I would like to add one more thing
to this essay on o-tera. 0-sera makes me
recall the prayer recited by monks before
meals in Zen temples. I did not practice
it in a temple but in my home by myself,
reading a book written by Dogen, the
founder of Eihei-ji Temple. In order to
conquer my chronic disease, I decided to
become a vegetarian, but the process
was not an easy one. I recited the prayer
prior to each meal and contemplated its
content. It indicated that one should
think where this food came from. One
should think of sun, rain, wind, insects,
farmers, distributors, cooks and so on--
all beings and natural phenomena that
worked on and contributed to it. One
should not eat the food to please one's
mouth but to lessen one's hunger and
maintain one's bodily health. One should
keep from becoming greedy. This food is
given to one only for the purpose of generating
righteous deeds.
I cannot practice perfectly what is
taught in this prayer. However, I must
confess that I could never have overcome
difficulties I had in the process of becoming
a strict vegetarian if I had not
followed this discipline.
? (NAOMI KONDO
, Handa)
The word sera evokes in my mind a
small, middle-aged woman. It was at a
certain little temple that i met her for
the first time and I've had several opportunities
to see her at the same place
since then. But we haven't talked with
each other so much because every time
we visit the temple to give our little aid
in the Buddhist ceremonies, we are busy
brewing tea as in the tea ceremony, serving
dinner to many priests and guests and
washing many cups and soup bowls. She
never talks about herself, but gradually
24 SEPTEMBER 29, 1996
I've gotten to know about her deep
relationship to the temple. When she was
a young mother, she suffered from troubles
so painful that she despaired. If the
temple had not given its support to her,
she could not have continued her life
with her children. Almost 30 years have
passed since that time and her life
cannot have been an easy one. But now
she has a very calm smile on her face all
the time and that makes a deep impression
on me.
I was led to the temple by my mother's
death. The nun of the temple and her
son, a young priest, happened to be in the
car behind the truck which drove away
after it hit and killed my mother who
was walking on the crosswalk when the -
traffic light was green. The nun and her
son did everything they could for her, including
reciting the Makura-gyei Sutra on
the spot. What a great relief that has
brought to my heart! And strange to say,
the nun's name is the same as my mother's
kaimyei (Buddhist name given after
death). When my mother's accident occurred,
I was in the middle of the biggest
trouble that I had ever experienced
in my life, so her death increased my anguish
even more.
The word tera doesn't mean simply
a building to me. It's something that consoles
our wounded mind when we pray
with a sincere heart, that encourages us
to live with a peaceful mind although the
troubles still exist. and that urges us to
help or-comfort other people in difficulties.
In that sense, there's not any difference
at all among tera, church and
mosque to me.
We cannot live choosing on!y___for:,
tunate things in our lives. Unfortunate
things, sad incidents, many kinds of misfortune
can rush to us when we are enjoying
our peace. But if we have built
tera, church or mosque in our minds
-:'ftmiy; we never reject those misfor -
zunes, or rather we try to be ready to
accept 1:1-1:-(a1s pact of our lives.
"DAILY WORD" ECHOES
I don't like to confine such words
as tera, church and mosque to the special
sphere of religion. Because the word
"religion" sometimes implies a mistaken
concept. If we just feel pure gratitude
to some existence that gives us precious
lives and that lets us live with ?a calm,
thankful heart, we should come to think
that engaging in struggles to perpetuate
a certain kind or sect of religion is quite
far from the true heart of religion itself.
(KIKUKO KUWAHARA,Nakagawa,Nagoya)
I regularly walk for an hour everyday
to keep in good health. On my walk, I
pass a Buddhist temple named Kasadera
Kannon. I usually drop by the temple to
pray,. otherwise I would feel uneasy as if
I forgot to do something important.
Generally speaking, tera reminds
me of Myake koyake, a typical Japanese
children's song and a haiku poem: Kaki
kueba kane ga naru nari HoryUji ("When I
ate a persimmon, the bell in HoryOji just
rang"), which was composed by Shiki
Masaoka. It engenders some positive
emotions such as nostalgia for my young
days, gratitude to my ancestors, -tranquillity
to my mind, etc.
In that sense, I prefer wooden temples
to the new ones built of reinforced
concrete.
(HARUJI FUKUMI, Minami, Nagoya)
*************************
July 30 Message (Subject #312)
A recent news article noted results
of research related to the relationship
of bodily hair and intelligence. Male
university students in the U. S. had more
bodily hair than the male population in
general,- medical and engineering students
in south India had more bodily hair
than manual laborers and, in regard to
academic ranking among students, "the
SEPTEMBER 29, 1996
hairier males got better grades". This
upset the common idea that men with
hairy chests were more brawny than
brainy. Orientals tend to have straight,
black hair, Africans kinky black hair,
while Caucasians may have naturally
'wavy hair of different colors . We now
see many kinds of hair styles, including
long hair on men, short hair on women
and shaved heads of priests and nuns.
Not only older people dye their hair to
make them appear younger. Young women
and men also dye their hair various colors..
"Hair" is the subject for essays this
week. What do you think of modern hair
styles and colors, of permanent waves,
of the special coiffures of Japanese
brides, geisha or sumo wrestlers, of the
custom of dyeing grey or white hair?
Before the war, most Japani-,e,,se
women were proud of their black, long,
straight hair. After the Second World
War ended, many women got permanent
waves at beauty parlors at least once a
month. It took a long time?five or six
hours--to have their hair set in a beautiful
style. Gradually, the time required
was shortened and recently most Japanese
women get permanents. On the other
hand, many men also get permanents.
That is a fashion nowadays.
In ancient or modern times, some
old women liked to dye their hair black.
It looks queer. However, if they are happy
with it, it is allowable. We must take
good care of our hair because God has
given each one of us our hair from the
time we were born. God gives us a white
crown when our hair turns white.
The special coiffures of Japanese
brides, (bunkin-taka-shimada), mornoware
for geisha and chonmage for sumo
wrestlers are customary hair styles related
-Lo their work or special occasions.
RecentlyI hearthatsome women dye
their hairto gowith the dress they wear.
"DAILYW ORD"E CHOES 25
It is quite unbelievable to me. Anyway,
we must take good care of our valuable
hair.
(TAMAKO MORIMOTO, Tsuyama)
It requires courage for a bald man
to write about hair. It is something like
a poor man writing about wealth or a
dishonest man writing about morality. I
was in the latter half of my twenties
when I started getting bald. I told my
wife before our marriage that I would
get a small salary because I was a government
employee and that I would become
bald prematurely, taking after my
father. The reason I informed her was
because I did not want to be called a deceiver
afterwards.
In former days, the hair style of a
man or woman was determined by the
social group to which he or she belonged.
In the case of men, samurai wore their
hair in a knot and merchants had their
own hair style. ;n the case of women, a
married woman did up her hair in a chignon
and a girl followed the MOMOware
style of coiffure. As is commonly known,
sumo wrestlers and geisha have their
peculiar hair styles even today. I hear
that Akebono has difficulty making his
curly hair into a topknot.
When I was a middle-school boy,
we had close-cropped hair,. which was
called beizu-atama. Of course, this expression
comes from the resemblance to
a Buddhist priest's head. (Strictly speaking,
they are not the same for a priest's
head is shaven bald.) It was in wartime
then and we were not reluctant to obey
such regulations. Even today, quite a
number of junior or senior high schools
adopt regulations that require boy stu?
dents to have close-cropped hair and it
often causes controversy.
At schools where long hair is accepted,
there is another problem: students
want to dye their hair, disregarding
school regulations. Dyeing their hair
(usually brown, called cha-patsu) and
26 SEPTEMBER 29, 1996
wearing pierced earrings are widely f avored
by young men today. They say that
it is their way of self-expression. I hate
that fashion. According to an old Chinese
saying: "We are gifted with our body, including
hair and skin, by our parents. Not
to injure the body is the beginning of filial
piety." We have adhered strictly to
this precept. Nothing can be more absurd
than to dye one's natural black hair and
to pierce one's ears, shedding blood.
Respect for natural appearance
should also apply to bald heads. Some
bald-headed people let their hair grow
long on one side and extend that hair over
the bald part. I have had the experience
of taking a bath with such a person. I
could not bear to look at his head before
he made himself up for it reminded me of
a gibbeted head at Suzugamori (a famous
place of execution in the Edo era). I do
not have the nerve to make such a pitiful
appearance. I can tolerate grey-haired
people dyeing their hair black. This may
be prudent for them and I do not have a
disagreeable feeling looking at it. It
cannot be compared to the camouflage of
a bald head noted above. We should not
feel ashamed of our bald heads. Samurai
of old days used to shave their head when
they apologized to a person as a proof of
their sincerity. Thus considered, I think,
the appearance of a bald head should be
much more esteemed.
(1\411(11-11KY0O SHIMOTO, Gifu)
By chance, I read an article in the
Asahi Shinbun newspaper on July 27th
about hair. The headline asks why people
want to dye their hair brown and two
women wrote about hair. Recently,brown
hair is called cha-patsu, although I have
not heard this new word .used. The appreciation.
of black hair is decreasing and
people dye their hair whatever color they
!ike,. They assert themselves by dyeing
their hair. Perhaps it is the same with
hair styie.
"DAILY WORD" ECHOES
I feel that the expression- chapatsu
implies a strong will, including
some sensitivity. Some people long for
brown hair because it gives them an
exotic feeling. They want to change
their black hair. Some one said that
brown hair is related to getting dressed
up. It goes with many colors of their
clothes. It is certain that I do not want
to change my black hair, which is
becoming silvery, year by year.
In all cases, if people choose with
their own wills and are satisfied, it is
good to make things bright around us--
not only related to hair but to our hearts
also. . (MICHIKO SANO, Minami, Nagoya)
Japanese women in the old days
were proud of their hair and tried to keep
it black and straight. Well-groomed hair
was as black as a wet crow. As for
Japanese men at that time, they had
their hair cut short. Most of them do so
now also, but some other young men have
their hair dyed brown, yellow or green.
We see many colors on their long hair.
Some Japanese girls have their hair dyed
brown also. Of course, Western ladies
with brown or golden hair are very attractive,
but we Japanese were given
black hair by God. Black hair is good, too.
We had better keep our hair its natural
color until it turns gray or white, like
pepper and salt, although artificially
waved hair is permitted. Snow-white
hair is also a gift from God and aged
people may be proud of it, but it is not
good to artificially color hair white before
one reaches that age. The special
coiffures of Japanese brides and geisha
are wigs which are worn when they are
needed, case by case. If their own hair
was used, it would be very difficult for
them to arrange it daily..
The hair style of sumo wrestlers is
very suitable for them, both in the old
days and today, because sumo wrestling
itself has been a Japanese traditional
sport. If they wrestled with short-cut
SEPTEMBER 29, 1996
hair, wearing pants, it would be funny.
and less attractive to watch. All their
styles, from head to foot, are very good
as long as they are sumo wrestlers. Buddhist
priests and nuns live in temples
which may be in keeping with their shaven
heads. They themselves may want to
keep it so, but I think nuns had better
change their hair style into an ordinary
woman's style because they are women.
As for hair styles, it is desirable
that a man be manly, a woman womanly.
Japanese should be Japanese-like in this
modern day and Western people should
maintain their natural styles also.
(KAZUKO TAGUCHI, Fukushima)
We Japanese use the expression
kuroyama no yO na hitodakari, which literally
means "a crowd like a black mountain",
to denote a large crowd of people.
I didn't pay any special attention to this
phrase until I went to the United States
because it is quite natural for us to see
black hair in Japan.
One day in 1985, I went to the Ohio
State Fair and saw hordes o3 visitors
there. They had hair of many kinds of
colors, not to mention their skin colors.
A crowd in the U. S. didn't look like a
black mountain. Of course, I had known
that in my mind, but �e,Afhen I saw and felt
itas a reality, it was a sort of culture
shock. I learned it is very important to
accept differences in appearances of individuals
as well as differences in their
thoughts.
The recent phenomenon of many
young people dyeing their hair seems a
good opportunity for us to get used to
differences. Unfortunately, school regulations
usually don't allow students to
dye their hair. Dyeing hair is a sign of
juvenile delinquency here.
We need to put forth a special effort
to do something different from others.
However, as long as it is not related
to crimes,we should do what we think
good. Creativity, which we do not learn
"DAILY WORD" ECHOES 27
in school might be encouraged under such
circumstances and we might learn to accept
and respect people who are different
(TOSHIAKI MIYAKE, Yokohama)
The other day I attended a funeral
ceremony. There was a big photo of the
deceased hung on the wall. Glancing at
the photo, 1 thought it was a different
person because his hair was snow-white
whereas it was dark black during his life
time. However, there was no other difference
and I realized that he had dyed his
hair for several years before his death.
When he passed away, I wondered why he
died despite his youngish appearance, but
when I saw the photo, it became clear
that he was really an aged man. .
Recently, I often come across
young ladies with hair dyed brown. If
the color change is minor, it would be
acceptable to me. It may be rather cute
or charming. However, if the dyeing is
excessive, it is detestable. I dislike
seeing young people with their hair dyed
dark yellow or even dark purple.
Speaking about the quality of hair,
a person with thin hair can hide it by
wearing a wig. However, when he takes
it off, people will be surprised to see
how thin his own hair is. Whether it is
color or quantity, I believe the best thing
is what is natural, not artificial.
(HARUJI FU K IJMI , Minami, Nagoya)
My grandmother had curly brown
hair and was ashamed of it because such
hair did not fit the traditional Japanese
coiffure nor the general fancy for women's
hair. She seldom put up her hair in a
traditional way, but she was good at fixing
the hair of others and sometimes
fixed my mother's hair. My mother's hair
was straight, pitch-black and thick, just
ideal for the old Japanese hair style. My
mother had a marumage (a coiffure for a
married woman) on New Year's Day. My
Father was happy to see it but he did not
28 SEPTEMBER 29, 19%
pay her any compliment. My father was
almost bald'at the age of forty.
Fortunately, I did not inherit my
hair from my father. My hair was coarse
and thick, if not pitch-black. I had long
hair when I was a high school student.
got a morpoware (a coiffure for an unmarried
young woman) made of my own
hair. I was exited and proud of it. My big
brother who usually was indifferent to
me,took pictures of me, walked me
down-town and introduced me to his
friends. I felt as if 1 were an adult
because 1 was treated like a lady. One
thing I forgot about this coiffure was
how to sleep. I put a support on the
kotatsu table and rested my head on it. I
spent two nights in this posture and on
the third .morning, I dismantled my
pompous coiffure.
At that time, I usually wore my
hair in two braids. Soon after I had the
momoware, I suddenly wanted to change
my hair style and had my hair cut very
short. My grandmother was shocked to
see my head and lamented, "Didn't you
know that hair was a woman's life?" I
had heard this saying somewhere before,
but I didn't agree.
My sister had more beautiful hair
than my mother and was called ke-bijin
(literally meaning "hair beauty"). She
had long hair and wore it up. She was
about to have a haircut on the day before
she went to the hospital to give birth to
her first child, but her husband did not
want her to have her hair cut. This
reminded me of a German woman I met in
a hospital in Munich. She worked there
doing small chores for hospitalized patients.
She was a gay young woman and
had fabulous blond hair, worn up in a
glamorous style. Everybody complimented
her and she then proudly told them
that her husband loved her long hair and
helped her every time she washed ft. Men
both in the west and east seemed to like
long hair some thirty years ago.
Time has passed and the life style
"DAILY WORD" ECHOES
has changed greatly Japan. People
don't wear kimonos anymore and black
straight hair is too heavy on western
clothes. They have diverse taste for hair
styles, including length and color. Some
men have long hair and some women very
short. hair. I don't think that men still
have a common fancy for women's long
hair. Hair dye and hair manicure are very
popular among young and old. If she had
lived now, my grandmother would not
have needed to be ashamed of her hair.
On the contrary, she would have been
fairly trendy. (NAOMI KONDO, Handa)
Recently, I have often seen young
people with their hair dyed an unnatural
blond. I have found this phenomenon so
strange and difficult to explain that I am
at a loss regarding what to say about it.
I wonder what makes them do such a
queer thing.
I would like to try to place myself
in the shoes of the young people. Boys in
their high teens are beginning to have a
troubled heart concerning a variety of
problems of life. The search for their
self-identity is given priority. Some
earnestly wish for being another, somehow
better, person than they really are.
This can become the springboard for a
new course of life they may take. Then
a variety of options appear before them.
Changing their hair color is an easy option.
It may give them the illusion that
they were already another being. But
people who see their blond hair often
frown at them or give them an icy look.
The color itself is very much to their
disadvantage if they are to keep company
with others. They dare to dye their hair
blond despite the apparent disadvantage.
Probably because they want to camouflage
themselves by doing so. They dare
to ignore people's icy stares. Some of
them go so far as to give those people
the elbow. This is why most people tend
to keep them at a respectable distance.
(SHOJI SUGNOTO, Suginami, Tokyo)
SEPTEMBER 29, 1996
*************************
Auust 6NieSti1:13
Olympus is the name of a mountain
in Greece. In Greek mythology it was the
home of the Greek gods, where Zeus, the
chief god, held his court. Far away from
this mountain, in a temple of Olympia, a
famous statue of Zeus, one of the seven
wonders of the world, was enshrined. In
776 B. C., racing contests were held near
this temple and every four years for over
a thousand years afterward. Discontinued
in 392 A. D., after the 293rd Olympiad
because of their becoming professionalized,
the (modern) Olympics were revived
as international sporting events i in
1896. Now, 700 years later, the 26th
Summer Olympics were recently held in
the U.S. city of Atlanta. What are your
impressions of these games which were
broadcast daily in Japan? Do you think
the atmosphere of the Olympics has
changed since they were held in Tokyo 32
years ago? Do you think the Games
accomplish their intended purpose? Do
you have any suggestions about how to
improve them? Were you happy with the
results?
I remember a trip to Greece where
the Olympics began. I went to Olympia on
the Peloponnesus Peninsula and Delphi in
the middle of Greece. I saw a sports
ground at both places. There was another
ground for tank battles at Olympia.
This summer of 1996, many games
or racing contests are being held in Atlanta
in the U.'S. A. I presume all those
who participate in the contests may
want to get a medal, whether gold, silver
or bronze. That is ?natural, but others
in Japan, who are not involved in the
Olympics, are critical of them. There is
"DAILYW ORD" ECHOES 29
much news in newspapers, on television
and radio.
What is most important about the
Olympics? It is the effort to become a
representative athlete and to share the
Olympic spirit. Not only the medals but
the sweat of the athletes is a valuable
treasure. I do not like to worry about the
results. I want to praise all the representative
athletes of the world.
(ivlICHIKO SANG, Minami, Nagoya)
The centennial Olympic games in
Atlanta, commemorating the modern
Olympics revived in 1896, came to an end
in peace. Though an act of terrorism
took place in a nearby park, it was not so
serious as to interfere with the games
themselves for which we should rejoice,
thinking of their development in the
coming second century. The opening and
closing ceremonies were splendid and
hear that the management of the games
left almost nai:hing to be desired, but I
feel that the number of events in the
Olympics has become too large. I cannot
even understand the rules of some
events. This is a problem to be solved in
the future together with the commercialization
of the Olympics which was
characteristic of the meet this time.
The results of Japanese athletes
were disappointing; they suffered crushing
defeats, except in some judo events.
1 can accept the fact that the U. S. .A.,
Russia or China greatly surpassed us, but
it is a matter of regret that we dropped
behind France, Italy and even Korea.
(That Great Britain joined us in a poor
showing is a slight consolation.) Mr. Taniguchi,
a marathon runner, expressed
this thought after his defeat: "Athletes
of other countries seriously analyzed us.
I feel the change of the times." I think
all the points at issue in the various
events are reflected in his saying. All
Japanese athletes and staff members
should realize this fact. If not, people
30 SEPTEMBER 29, 1996
will not be convinced of the reason for
dispatching them in such great numbers.
Among many Japanese athletes, the
attitude of some women were impressive.
Ms. Arimori's strenuous effort and
her smile at the goal were memorable.
She said with tearful eyes: "I wish to
praise myself now." Many people were
moved by this comment as they knew her
persistent endeavor for four years after
the last Olympics. Ms. Tamura's smile
was also charming. She gained a silver
medal in the last Olympics and had been
aiming at a gold medal this time. But
again she could not attain her goal, being
obstructed by a North Korean newcomer.
She did not weep sad tears, however, but
pledged her word smiling that she would
succeed next time. Speaking of weeping,
I wonder why many players (including
men) shed tears in their mortification. I
can understand tears of joy, but I think i t
is disgraceful to weep when one is defeated.
Sportsmen should be more like
samurai in their attitude.
A North Korean (woman) gold medalist
in judo said: "I came here to bring
joy to our ruler, General Kim." An Afghan
marathon runner, who reached the goal
last, said: "I am a representative of our
nation, so I could not drop out along the
way." The words of these two athletes
reflect the education they had received.
Japanese athletes in former days must
have held the same convictions, which
they have now lost. For those countries,
the Olympics are a means of enhancing
national glory. I am rather pleased that
our young athletes do not express such
patriotic sentiments but participate in
the Olympics without being so concerned
about the outcome.
(MIKIFIIKO YOSHIMOTO, Gifu)
I enjoyed viewing the magnificent
skills of the Olympic athletes on television.
1 also read newspapers and weekly
magazines which carried many articles
and pictui^es regarding the medalists and
"DAILY WORD" ECHOES
their opponents. Their bodies were real
gifts from Heaven. Their straining to win
medals seemed beyond my imagination.
A Japanese female swimmer, Suzu
Chiba, has been bashed by the press after
she said she had enjoyed .swimming in
the Games. Some sportswriters wanted
to hear about her eagerness to win a
medal or her apologies for her failure to
get one. I cannot understand why she is
frequently criticized. I think she never
deceived anyone by saying she wanted to
get a medal. The media should be blamed
for its narrow-minded imagination or
expectation.
It is not only Suzu. Many athletes
could not get medals. Let's look at the
number of Japanese athletes who went to
Atlanta. There were almost five hundred.
Next, let's count the number of
medals they won. There were less than
twenty. In some events, Japan's new records
were far from the world records.
Still they went there to take part in the
Olympics. It was once said that there
was meaning in participation itself.
I want the media to stop personal
attacks for Japan's miserable results and
praise the athletes for what they have
done. Anyway, they did their best. I
don't care which country got the most
medals. I really enjoyed viewing the
Olympic athletes' performances wherever
they came from.
(TOSHIAKI MIYAKE, Yokohama)
First of all, I am happy to know
that it is the 1 00th anniversary since
the modern Olympics were revived as
international sports events. It is very
helpful to know that the years when the
Olympics are held are those years whose
numbers can be exactly divided by four.
Speaking of the Olympics, I remember
the Olympics which were held in
Tokyo in 1964, 32 years ago. At that
.Lime
, I was in SOma, on ocean coast in
Fukushima Prefecture. It was the third
year after I became a teacher in the pubSEPTEMBER
29, 1996
lic school. A Tokyo Olympic Chorus was
a popular song from April of that year.
There were some students who had no
television set at home. Hideko, my
roommate and 1, did not have one either.
So all of us watched the Games on a
black-and-white television set at the
school while the rich teachers and students
having rich parents went home and
watched on their own television sets. I
remember especially the performance of
the Japanese women's volleyball athletes
who brought victory to Japan. That
stimulated the physical education teacher
much more than the students at our
school. He used to pose as Mr. Dairnatsu,
the manager, when he coached the volleyball
club members.
This year, I watched the Olympic
Games on my awn color television set.
Japanese people, including me, became
richer than in 1964. 1 enjoyed watching
all the athletes in the world do their
best as representatives of their countries.
I think the Games brought them
satisfaction. I, myself, am not good at
sports. In some events, I could not understand
who was the winner unless I
heard the explanation. It cannot be
helped that if one person wins, another
must lose. I hoped and expected that
Rya() Tamura, the Japanese athlete i in
the 48-kilogram judo division would win
a gold medal. this year. She had trained
for four years to be the strongest, but
she could not get a gold medal. How
charming she was to keep her smiling
face all the time! I am sure she will
challenge the tall judo wrestlers of other
countries after four years. I hope that
all the athletes in the next Olympics in
2000 enjoy their games, aiming at being
faster, higher and stronger than before.
The medals are to be given rather than to
be gotten.
Anyway, I say "Thank you very much
for your good job" to every athlete,
every supporting organization and every
news reporter. And I heartily hope the
"DAILYW ORD"E CHOES 31
terrorist who set a bomb in the park near
the place of this year's Olympics will
reflect upon what he did and never do it
again at any place.
(KAZUKO TAGUCHI, Fukushima)
I enjoyed looking at the many kinds
of games except for judo, wrestling and
other boring matches which were broadcast
daily on television in Japan. I felt
that the atmosphere of the Olympic
Games has changed since they were held
in Tokyo thirty years ago. The champions
were rather self-advertising. Some athletes
were forbidden to participate because
they had taken forbidden drugs.
I do not know the true meaning of
the Olympic flame or torch, but I suggest
that the host nation not give words of
praise only to the winners but words of
encouragement to the losers as well. I
also suggest that more importance
should be attached to physical' training,
rather than winning or losing. Also, it is
not good to spend so much national funds
for the Olympics. It is much better for
give the money to the underdeveloped nations
of the world.
(TAMAKO MORIMOTO, Tsuyarna)
Looking back after the Games were
over, Japan's record was very . bad.
think it is due to a lack of an "indomitable
spirit".. I was very surprised at the
unexpectedly few medals. Of course, the
champions of America, Russia and China
were far beyond Japan, but Japan was
lower than France, Italy, Gerrnany and
Korea. Such a result is not only related
to sports, but to politics and the economy
as well. I 'm waffled about Japan's
future. The Olympics every four years
should. be a kind of barometer of each
country's power.
The Atlanta Olympics impressed on
me that world champions get their power
both from physical strength and spiritual
exercise. A runner who drew her inspiration
from Ethiopian's legendary
32 SEPTEMBER 29, 1996
marathon champion, Abebe Bikila, ran
away from the field on July 28th to win
the women's marathon. Fatuma Roba took
control of the 42.195 kilometer race
from about the 19-kilometer mark and
never looked back, winning the gold
medal. with a time of 2 hours, 26 minutes,
5 seconds. I understood from the
TV news that she used to run back and
forth to school for many kilometers every
day from her home on a high hill to the
school in the lowland. I thought that was
great exercise.
Japan's Yoko Arimori crossed the
finish line in third place to win the
bronze medal behind Roba and defending
Olympic champion Valentine Yugorova of
Russia. "I'm very pleased to have returned
to the Olympic Marathon and win a
medal again", she said. I admire her for
her strong spiritual power with which
she overcame many troubles, a difficult
surgical operation ,and rehabilitation
exercises. Also, she always gave us a
smile. She is a proven champion. RyOko
Tanaka lost in the final bout of the 48-
kilogram judo division. It was a bitter
disappointment for the 20-year-old Tamura.
What should have been victory
number 85 instead turned into a narrow
loss to Kye Sun of North Korea.
The affluent Japanese society must
return to the beginning and reconsider.
(MIEKO OKlliviURA, Mizho, Nagoya)
was at the Portland Airport at the
end of July and met a large group of
Japanese there. They were tourists who
had visited the Atlanta Olympics and
were on their way back to Japan. I was
surprised at the number of people in the
group. There were about sixty. When the
Olympics began, I was in Oregon. The
Atlanta Olympics was not the biggest
event there.
I stayed one-and-a-half weeks in a
small city on the outskirts of Portland.
It was a dream come true that I got the
oi,-)portunity to hear English all day long.
"DAILY WORD" ECHOES
I began to understand people talking on
the street or in the supermarket just a
day or two before my return to Japan.
Just when my ears began to get accustomed
to their language, 1 had to leave
America.
I firmly decided to listen to English
programs on television as much as
possible, but when I arrived home, I was
shocked. There were no programs via
satellite. Instead, Olympic games were
broadcast from early morning until late
at night. There were no English news reports,
no English dramas, no documentaries
or movies in the original languages.
I was disappointed and became upset. My
plan to listen to English programs came
crashing down.
I wondered if that was how it was
at the last Olympic four years ago. Were
all the regular satellite programs canceled
then? Was the schedule of NHK BSI
entirely packed with Olympic Games?
On the front page of every newspaper
were articles related to the Olympic
Games with colored pictures every
morning and evening. All the television
channels covered the games all day long.
Exceptionally great coverage was given
to these Games and to the medal winners
in particular. People in the mass media
are keen on medals and winners. They
are almost in a frenzy. An overheated
Olympic mood permeated Japan.
I am not against having the Olympic
Games broadcast live and in detail.
However, I regarded the media coverage
to be exaggerated. NHK was especially
remiss. For the Olympic Games, all programs
coming from abroad were sacrificed.
That was thoughtless, ethnocentric
and unfair. No thought was given to
residents from overseas who don't understand
Japanese and rely on news in
English or other foreign languages. Those
people also pay money to NHK for getting
information of events in other parts of
the world. During the Olympics, they
SEPTEMBER 29, 1996
were totally ignored. They were like the
deaf or the blind.
The Olympics is over now. I feel
relieved and glad to see that things are
back to normal. (NAOMI KONDO, Handa)
The Olympic Games held in Atlanta
and broadcast on television interfered
with my daily schedule, but they included
a variety of interesting topics to
think about. Here are only some of them.
1) Medal Fanatics: Japanese Olympic
President Furuhashi reportedly bemoaned
the Japanese athletes' inability
to meet pre-Olympic predictions of at
least five gold medals and at least 24
medals in all. In fact, Japan won a total
of 14 medals, eight fewer than it did
four years ago.. "Ganbare Nippon!" was
the common cry of people encouraging
athletes to win medals. But the shouts
proved fruitless. Needles to say, medals
are given to individual winners, not to
countries. However, the hoisting of national
flags to the music of national anthems
in honor of each gold medalist at
the award ceremony after each event
stimulates a nationalistic feeling in the
hearts not only of the champions but of
the television viewers as well. Majestic
flags and solemn music have a exhilarating
effect on the atmosphere of the ceremony.
2) Nationalism: From the first, the
prediction of possible medalists from
among Japanese athletes was, after a II,
in the area of wishful thinking. The predictions
only based on their past objective
data were somehow enhanced with
the flavor of nationalism. And nationalism
is often tinged with jingoism. The
frog in the well does not know the ocean
Competition among individual athletes is
sometimes indiscernibly changed into
national competition In this connection,
I would like to suggest that, in the future,
each individual represent only his/
her municipality instead of a country
"DAILY WORD" ECHOES 33
3) Beautiful Performances: Some of
the medalists greatly impressed me.
Black men and women were especially
splendid, irrespective of their nationality.
Small wonder they have vaulted into
history.
4) Whose Success? Some say it
was the Coca-Cola Company's, but it was
a contribution to world peace.
(SHOJI SUGIMOTO, Suginami, Tokyo)
I watched the Olympic Games held
in the city of Atlanta on television. All
events attracted me as participants
were the world's first-ranking athletes
and they all seemed to do their best.
On the other hand, there were some
scenes that disappointed me. Winners,
without exception, showed an excessive
feeling of pride. I would not deny the
natural emotion of delight when they win
over their opponents, but I think the real
meaning of participating in the games i s
not related only to victory and defeat.
More important is a friendly atmosphere
for the contest. It seemed that victory
was the only aim of the athletes. As a
result, each athlete seemed to be
absorbed with how many medals he/she
could get.
I'm afraid the attraction of the ?
Olympic Games will be reduced as time
goes on.
(HARUJI FUKUMI, Minami, Nagoya)
This 54th issue of "Daily or
Echoes is a little larger than auerage.
It contains 60 essays contributed by
17 writers. Five writers (including the
two from the most distant prefectures
o FIALIShifilE1 arid Okayama) wrote an
essay on all 6 themes. The surnames
of three of those writers..end in "rno-
.to". Three writers contributed essays
on 5 themes. One wrote 3 essays. The
surnames o-:713 of the 4 who wrote 2
essays eM "aura". Final!, 5 writers
contributed essays on one theme.
f1/1o f the writers did a good job. (C.O.)
34 SEPTEMBER 29, 1996
**************************
Essay on S u 13-e cttiate .
At present, cellular phones seem to
be popular among young people, tradesmen
and, particularly, craftsmen or people
involved in the construction business.
It is true that cellular phones can
be convenient to their users. On the other
hand, they can also cause various problems.
For example, not a few traffic accidents
related to cellular phones have
been reported recently. It is easy to imagine
how dangerous it is to be absorbed
in a conversation on the phone while driving.
Such drivers who are inattentive to
traffic conditions cause rear-end col I
sions or bump into other cars at crossroads.
What most worries me is that
when the driver answers the phone, he/
she must drive with one hand, which is
very dangerous. One should avoid this by
parking the car at the edge of the road if
one wants to talk. Otherwise, one should
not answer the phone.
Another point I wish to make is
that when cellular phones are used near a
person who has a pacemaker (a device to
regulate the heartbeat) embedded, they
have serious ill effects on that person.
SUch being the case, I'd like to caution
those who use them to abide by the rules
in the use of them.
Generally speaking, it takes time
before new things get widely accepted by
the people, so the same thing can be said
about cellular phones. I myself belong to
the group of people who are far from
jumping at new things, so I don't think I
will hold the receiver of a cellular phone
in my hand for the time being.
(SHOW DOMAE, Kasugai)
Ouer the 14 gears since the first
issue of Word" Echoes was pub-
Eslied, a total of 2792 e,ssags submitted
hu 102 writers haw?, been included
In its 54 issues.
"DAILY WORD" ECHOES
A BRIEF HISTORY OF "DAILY WORD"
1/1/79 "Daily Word"s predecessor,
KyO no Messeji, (0566-52-2732) in Japanese
began from Takahama Church using
"answer phone" machine (book of these
daily messages, Kokoro no Sanpo-michi,
published December 1994 by Kirisuto
Shinbunsha)
9/1/80 "Daily Word" (052-794-
6422) began from Nagoya residence using
same method
4/26/81 First meeting of listeners
10/3/81 Began sending out printed
copies of messages
8/29/82 First issue of "Daily
Word" Echoes ?
9/21/83 Second telephone/"answer
phone" installed to handle more calls
2/1/86 Telephones purchased by
NTT; "Daily Word" became NTT service,
taped/ transmitted on NTT equipment
1/88 "Daily Word" messages introduced
into NTT's CAPTAIN system
1/89 Daily Word, textbook for university
students, published (Hokuseido)
12/90 "Daily Word" messages introduced
into the English Forum of NIFTY-
Serve computer network
1/91 Ofuna- Hakase no Deiri- Wado,
high school text, published (Biseisha)
10/30/92 Messages began to be recorded
on chip instead of on tape; must
be called in daily
1/93 "Daily Word" messages became
available in Braille at St. Michael's
English Library for the Blind (Kobe)
10/93 Japanese translations of
messages from NIFTY-Serve made available
for general listeners/readers
3/96 On Internet (NAMOS homepage):
http://www.namos.co.jp/clarld
September29,1996=message#5487;
Weekly copy #764; "Daily Word" Echoes
#54; Listeners Meeting #64; Total number
of calls (9/80-8/96): 772,977; Average
per day: 132; Record number of calls
in one clay: 5224 (1/14/88)